UPNetwork  

Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > The Misc

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-26-2013, 06:38 PM   #1
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Acronyms lowercase in the UK?

While reading the first bit of this article, I couldn't help but to notice that the Defense of Marriage Act, known by the shorthands DoMA or DOMA over here in the United States, is provided as "Doma" by the BBC, almost as if it isn't an acronym at all. I'm just curious: is this common in British writing? Does it depend on the acronym? Some examples-by-question:

Do you write CIA or Cia?
Do you write NASA or Nasa?
Do you write FIFA or Fifa?
Do you write AIDS or Aids?
Do you write NATO or Nato?

One possible hint I've found would seem to suggest that your answers will be "CIA, Nasa, Fifa, Aids, Nato" as only the first of these is read by its letters ("C I A") whereas the others are read as though they were words proper ("Nasa", not "N A S A"). Is this the case?
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2013, 06:51 PM   #2
DaveTheFishGuy
Primordial Fishbeast
 
DaveTheFishGuy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 12,258
Send a message via Skype™ to DaveTheFishGuy
That's the first time I've ever seen such a thing that I can remember.

While I personally write those provided examples in allcaps, I tend to say most of them. While I do say 'See-Eye-Ay' individually, I say 'Nass-a' of 'Feef-a' or 'Nay-toe' or 'Aids'. But I write them NASA, FIFA, NATO, and AIDS.

I'm pretty sure this is a one-time goof on the Beeb's part.
DaveTheFishGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2013, 07:05 PM   #3
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveTheFishGuy View Post
That's the first time I've ever seen such a thing that I can remember.

While I personally write those provided examples in allcaps, I tend to say most of them. While I do say 'See-Eye-Ay' individually, I say 'Nass-a' of 'Feef-a' or 'Nay-toe' or 'Aids'. But I write them NASA, FIFA, NATO, and AIDS.
As do we. CIA is the only one we say by the individual letters ("See Eye Ay"). The other four we say as though they were words.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveTheFishGuy View Post
I'm pretty sure this is a one-time goof on the Beeb's part.
Well that's why I asked whether it was common or not. I wanted to know whether this was an abnormality or whether it was the typical case. But say it is a mistake on the BBC's part. That's still incredible. Incredible that someone's brain actually so registers an acronym like DOMA as a word that they write it as Doma instead. It's sort of a living window into how older acronyms (like LASER and RADAR) became lowercase words over time.
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 04:53 AM   #4
Mercutio
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 14,729
Generally alcaps. However, Defense (sic) of Marriage Act is correct as of is not an important word. So see WoW (World of Warcraft), DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport).
Mercutio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 06:25 AM   #5
Emp
Volcano Badge
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,143
Maybe I'm less literate than you guys or its because I'm from the north of England but I write:
NASA (mainly because that's how its presented in news and media)
Fifa (probably because its said a lot on facebook where formality is left behind)
Aids (I even spell the 'a' in lower case and treat it very much like laser in that I knew the word well before the acronym)
NATO? (I've never needed to write it down before so I'm not sure)
__________________


FB PASBL TL 4

26-4-0 KO74 TP208
B Ref SP 2

Emp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:20 AM   #6
Amras.MG
Not sure if gone...
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Or just lurking.
Posts: 2,709
The difference between AIDS and Aids is the Jared episode of South Park.
Amras.MG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:24 AM   #7
Mercutio
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 14,729
But then not every acronym is capitalised, only if it's a name of an organisation or a proper title. So, laser isn't capitalised.
Mercutio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:31 AM   #8
Amras.MG
Not sure if gone...
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Or just lurking.
Posts: 2,709
It's capitalized if it's at the beginning of a sentence
Amras.MG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:49 AM   #9
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercutio View Post
But then not every acronym is capitalised, only if it's a name of an organisation or a proper title. So, laser isn't capitalised.
EKG / ECG
EEG
TV
VCR
CD-ROM
TNT
DDT
DEET
MRI
CT
NMR
CRT
GWAM

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. The point being that being not an organization and not a proper title simply isn't enough. In most cases, a third implied rule seems to be "it has to be readable as a word". (Note that most of the acronyms listed above are read letter by letter and many cannot be read as normal-sounding English words.) But in some cases, even that rule isn't enough to lock it in. (See: DEET, GWAM)
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2013, 09:57 AM   #10
Mercutio
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 14,729
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
EKG / ECG
EEG
TV
VCR
CD-ROM
TNT
DDT
DEET
MRI
CT
NMR
CRT
GWAM

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. The point being that being not an organization and not a proper title simply isn't enough. In most cases, a third implied rule seems to be "it has to be readable as a word". (Note that most of the acronyms listed above are read letter by letter and many cannot be read as normal-sounding English words.) But in some cases, even that rule isn't enough to lock it in. (See: DEET, GWAM)
Yeah I should have said largely instead of only. Woops.
Mercutio is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Lower Navigation
Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > The Misc


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:58 AM.


Design By: Miner Skinz.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.