Introduction to Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms and Abbreviations represent common phrases and actions that people say to one another through online communication. Also known as Chat Acronyms, E-mail Shorthand and Talk Mode, these shortened sets of jargon words are used in e-mail, newsgroup postings and IRC. The rise in their popularity is mainly due to the quickness and ease in entering a few letters, rather than typing out the full expression. Being of relatively recent origin, acronyms and abbreviations are now universal and are an integral part of today’s computer culture.

Acronyms and Abbreviations can be combinations of either first letters of words or syllables. An acronym is a “word” that one can pronounce; e.g., the word RAM stands for “Random Access Memory”; ASAP stands for “As Soon As Possible.” Examples of syllable groupings that have become new words are RADAR are “Radio Detecting And Ranging,” and SCUBA for “Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus."

Combinations of letters and numbers that are not pronounecable are technically labeled as abbreviations; e.g., IBM for “International Business Machines,” AFAIK for “As Far As I Know,” and 2BCTND for “To Be Continued.” There are many instances, though, where one will find that abbreviations are referred to as acronyms throughout the internet. A number of other acronyms and abbreviations are listed below.