🚀 go-pugleaf

unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (tuu) writes:


>In article <mtpins.711668470@icaen.uiowa.edu> mtpins@icaen.uiowa.edu (Michael T Pins) writes:
>}Keep in mind that most computer "terms" are concatenated abbrev's.
>}In this case, SYStem OPerator.  Pronounce them accordingly.

>	I really dislike this argument, but I used to use it myself....

>	I dislike it because it's NOT true.  There are many many terms that
>are abbreviations/acronyms that are *not* pronounced the way in which the
>original words are.  There are only two I can think of at the moment, one
>of which is a computer term.

>	BASIC -- if the rule was true, we'd pronounce it "bahsick" rather
>		than "baysick"

>	AMFAR -- American Foundation for Aids Research (how in hell this 
>			popped into my mind I do not know).. But if the
>		rule was true, it'd be pronounced "amfair" rather than 
>		"amfar"

Neither of your counter examples applies. They are both *acronyms*
constructed from the initial letters of a phrase. In such cases, prounciation
is pretty much determined by what it looks like.

On the other hand, "sysop" is formed by combining *syllables*. It's in
effect a contraction of the words "system operator". And the path may 
have been that system got frequently shortened to "sys" and operator
got shortened to "op". *Then* they got combined.

-- 
Leonard Erickson		      leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com
CIS: [70465,203]			 70465.203@compuserve.com
FIDO:   1:105/56	 Leonard.Erickson@f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org
(The CIS address is checked daily. The others infrequently)