FW: abbreviations

------ Forwarded Message
> From: Christophe Strobbe <christophe.strobbe@esat.kuleuven.be>
> Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:52:03 +0100
> To: Loretta Guarino Reid <lguarino@adobe.com>
> Subject: Re: abbreviations
> 
> Hello Loretta,
> 
> At 00:53 4/02/2006, you wrote:
> <blockquote>
> Christophe, in the technique you contributed for providing an expanded form
> of abbreviations, you point out that there are abbreviations like Ms. for
> which there are no expansions. What should we recommend in that situation?
> Do we need to include an exception in this technique for such abbreviations?
> 
> http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=Providing_the_abbreviation_imm
> ediately_following_the_first_use_of_the_expanded_form_within_the_delivery_unit
> </blockquote>
> 
> Abbreviations without expansions are rare (at least in the languages I
> know). How you deal with them depends on whether they are acronyms or
> abbreviations (in the strict sense of the word) - at least that's my take
> on it.
> * For acronyms without an expansion (for example, because the original
> expansion has been rejected by the organisation that it refers to), an
> explanation is more appropriate, and we already have a technique for this
> (http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=Providing_the_expansion_or_ex
> planation_of_an_abbreviation).
> Examples: SIL (which used to mean Summer Institute of Linguistics, but is
> now a name in its own right - see http://www.sil.org/sil/history.htm), IMS
> (which used to mean Instructional Management Systems, but is now a name in
> its own right).
> * For an abbreviation that has no expansion, we might say that the success
> criterion does not apply. Examples: Ms, OK. (You might then ask if these
> examples are actually abbreviations. Since WCAG is for web developers, not
> linguists, and these examples are probably perceived as abbreviations, it's
> OK to say that they are abbreviations.) This comment could also be added to
> http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=Providing_the_expansion_or_exp
> lanation_of_an_abbreviation,
> instead of the technique "Providing the abbreviation immediately
> following...".
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Christophe
> 
> 
> -- 
> Christophe Strobbe
> K.U.Leuven - Departement of Electrical Engineering - Research Group on
> Document Architectures
> Kasteelpark Arenberg 10 - 3001 Leuven-Heverlee - BELGIUM
> tel: +32 16 32 85 51
> tel mobile: +32 473 97 70 25
> fax: +32 16 32 85 39
> http://www.docarch.be/
> 
> 
> Disclaimer: http://www.kuleuven.be/cwis/email_disclaimer.htm
> 

------ End of Forwarded Message

Received on Tuesday, 7 February 2006 13:59:58 UTC