Syllabic abbreviation: Difference between revisions
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A '''syllabic abbreviation''' is an [[abbreviation]] formed from (usually) initial [[syllable]]s of several [[word]]s, such as ''[[Interpol]]'' = '''''Inter'''national'' + '''''pol'''ice''. |
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Syllabic abbreviations are usually written using [[lower case]], sometimes starting with a [[capital letter]], and are always pronounced as words rather than letter by letter. |
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Syllabic abbreviations should be distinguished from [[portmanteau]]s. |
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==Usage in different languages== |
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Syllabic abbreviations are not widely used in [[English language|English]] or [[French language|French]]. |
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On the other hand, they prevailed in Germany under the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]]s and in the Soviet Union for naming the plethora of new bureacratic organizations. For example, ''[[Gestapo]]'' stands for '''''Ge'''heime '''Sta'''ats-'''Po'''lizei'', or "secret state police". Similarly, ''[[Comintern]]'' stands for the ''[[Communist International]]''. This has caused syllabic abbreviations to have negative connotation, notwithstanding that such abbreviations were used in Germany even before the Nazis came to power, e.g., ''[[:de:Schupo|Schupo]]'' for ''Schutzpolizei''. |
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Syllabic abbreviations were also typical for the [[German language]] used in the [[German Democratic Republic]], e.g. ''[[Stasi]]'' for ''Staatssicherheit'' ("state security", the secret police) or ''Vopo'' for ''Volkspolizist'' ("people's policeman"). |
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East [[Asia]]n languages whose writing uses [[Chinese language|Chinese]]-originated [[ideogram]]s instead of an alphabet form abbreviations similarly by using key [[Chinese character|character]]s from a term or phrase. For example, in {{ll|Japanese}} the term for the [[United Nations]], ''kokusai rengō'' (国際連合) is often abbreviated to ''kokuren'' (国連). (Such abbreviations are called [[:ja:略語|ryakugo]] (略語) in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]). The classic example is, of course, ''[[shogun]]''. The syllabic abbreviation is frequently used for universities: for instance, ''Beida'' (北大, Běidà) for [[Peking University]] ([[Beijing]]) and '''Tōdai'' (東大) for the [[University of Tokyo]]. |
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==Usage in organisations== |
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Syllabic abbreviations are prefered by the US [[Navy]] as it increases readability amidst the large number of [[initialism]]s that would otherwise have to fit into the same [[acronym]]s. Hence ''[[DESRON]] 6'' is used (in the full capital form) to mean "Destroyer Squadron 6," while ''[[COMNAVFORLANT]]'' would be "Commander, Naval Force (in the) Atlantic." |
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==See also== |
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* [[List of syllabic abbreviations]] |
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* [[Neologism]], word, term, or phrase which has been recently created |
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[[Category:Abbreviations]] |
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Revision as of 05:50, 13 November 2005
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