Re: unix acronyms -collecting a list?

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Article #4262

#4262

From: Peter Flynn
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 1997 00:00

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Mike Ellis wrote:
> 
> Michael Sierchio <xhqmh@qanv.pbz> wrote:
> 
> >Mike Ellis wrote:
> >
> >> Sorry to spoil the fun but these are not acronyms. An acronym is an
> >> abbreviation which can be pronounced as if it were a word. 

This is simply untrue, it's a local (US) aberration. An acronym is
a word formed from the heads of other words. It says nothing at all
about whether or not you can pronounce it.

For some weird reason the US (started in the Military, I'm told) got
it into their heads that an acronym had to be pronounceable, possibly
because it makes sense to do so in the army (?). But to extrapolate
from that and impose that rule on the rest of the world is not
meaningful.

The notes at http://www.ucc.ie/acronyms make this clear.

///Peter
-- 
Peter Flynn

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From: Peter Flynn <silmaril@m-net.arbornet.org>
Subject: Re: unix acronyms -collecting a list?
Date: 1997/06/15
Message-ID: <33A33158.4A1C@m-net.arbornet.org>
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