英语语法：114 Abbreviations, Acronyms

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is the difference between abbreviations, acronyms², and initialisms. It's kind of an extension of the last episode, because I want to clarify the difference between abbreviations and acronyms.

Any shortened form of a word is an abbreviation, for example, etc. for etcetera and Oct. for October; but acronyms are special kinds of abbreviations, such as ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) and OPEC (Organization of Petroleum³ Exporting Countries), that can be pronounced as words. This makes them a subset of abbreviations. All acronyms are abbreviations, but not all abbreviations are acronyms.

Initialisms are another type of abbreviation. They are often confused with acronyms because they are made up of letters, so they look similar, but they can't be pronounced as words. FBI and CIA are examples of initialisms because they're made up of the first letters of Federal Bureau of Investigation⁴ and Central Intelligence Agency, respectively, but they can't be pronounced as words. NASA, on the other hand, is an acronym¹ because even though it is also made up of the first letters of the department name (National Aeronautics⁵ and Space Administration), it is pronounced as a word, NASA, and not by spelling out the letters N, A, S, A.

So remember:

Initialisms are made from the first letter (or letters) of a string of words, but can't be pronounced as words themselves. Examples include FBI, CIA, FYI (for your information), and PR (public relations).
Acronyms are made from the first letter (or letters) of a string of words but are pronounced as if they were words themselves. Examples include NASA, NIMBY (not in my backyard), and hazmat* (hazardous⁶ materials).
Abbreviations are any shortened form of a word.

Finally, there's no strict rule about putting periods after each letter in an acronym or initialism. Some publications put periods after each letter, arguing that because each letter is essentially⁷ an abbreviation for a word, periods are necessary. Other publications don't put periods after each letter, arguing that the copy looks cleaner without them, and that because they are made up of all capital letters, the fact that they are abbreviations is implied.

That's all. As always, this is Grammar Girl, striving to be your friendly guide in the writing world. Remember, if you'd like me to produce more episodes each week and on a regular schedule, you can help by taking the audience survey on the Grammar Girl page of QuickAndDirtyTips.com. It's the blue box at the top of the sidebar, and your answers are completely anonymous⁸.

Links

Wikipedia Entry for Acronyms and Initalisms
Dictionary.com entry for Initialism
An excellent discussion by HTML developers about acronyms and abbreviations.
List of Common Abbreviations
Everyday Acronyms

* I haven't been able to find a definitive⁹ answer on the right way to write hazmat, but the U.S. government's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety writes it as hazmat so I'm sticking with that for now.

 

1 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

2 acronyms   

n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Scratch the subject of defence and acronyms, abbreviations, and buzzwords fly out. 话题触及国防，缩合字，缩写字和行话就满天飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some acronyms as scientific terminology are used as a lexical item. 一些科学术语缩写用作词汇项目。 来自互联网

3 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

6 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

9 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。