RE: ABBR and ACRONYM

Examples of sources of confusion?


NATO is a good example.

It is an acronym
It is (often) pronounced as a word.
Should it be <acronym>NATO</acronym> to produce N A T O
or should it be unmarked, implying that all readers will have heard of
NATO and 'pronounce it' as NATO.

There are probably better examples in esoteric fields full of jargon.
<acronym>IT</acronym> is just such a field. Someone not 
familiar with the field may not recognise <acronym>RAM</acronym>
as a computer term and interpret as a sheepish item.

this from a colleague next door more familiar with the issues of
mistranslation. Thanks Jeannie!

regards, DaveP

Received on Friday, 30 January 1998 08:40:31 UTC