ABBREVIATIONS

ACRONYMS

Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as they are spelled, not as separate letters, e.g. NATO, UNESCO, NASA. Most acronyms can be written as capital letters or with only an initial capital letter, for example: Aids/AIDS.

Some acronyms are so established that they are now ‘normal’ words, generally used without conscious awareness of their original full form. These words should be written in lower-case letters, for example: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).

Acronyms do not receive full stops.

Fun article: 29 Of The Most Common Acronyms And What They Stand For

CONTRACTIONS

Contractions are a type of abbreviation in which letters from the middle of the word are omitted, for example: Dr (Doctor), Mr (Mister) St (Saint), Ltd (Limited).

Note that Mrs and Ms are conventionally treated as abbreviations, even though they can be written in no other way.

In British English you do not need to use a full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word. In American English a full stop is used after this kind of abbreviations (e.g. Mr., Mrs., Dr., Ltd.)

A contraction can also be an abbreviated form of more than one word, for example: I’ll (I will/I shall), you’ve (you have), he’s (he is or he has). In contractions that represent more than one word, the letters that have been omitted should be replaced with an apostrophe. This kind of contractions are not normally used in formal writing.

INITIALISMS

Initialisms are abbreviations which consist of the initial (i.e. first) letters of words and which are pronounced as separate letters when they are spoken, for example: BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), MP (Member of Parliament), UK (United Kingdom).

In British English, you do not need to put full stops after the letters in an initialism. Sometimes, especially in American English, certain initialisms may include full stops, if that is the preferred style of a particular writer or publisher. For instance, both forms – US and U.S. – are acceptable. It is, however, important to remember to use the same style consistently in one piece of writing.

SHORTENINGS

Shortenings are abbreviations in which the beginning or end of the word has been dropped. In some cases both the beginning and the end have been omitted. For example, cello is a shortening for violoncello, flu for influenza, and telly for television.

In shortenings you do not use an apostrophe to show that letters have been omitted. You should only use a capital letter if the original form also starts with a capital letter, like in these examples: Brit (a British person) or Jag (Jaguar).

You do not use a full stop unless the shortening is one created specifically for use in writing, for example: Jan. (January), Wed. (Wednesday), etc. (et cetera).

ABBREVIATIONS – GENERAL RULES

In formal writing, it is best to avoid using abbreviations when possible. Titles, such as Mr, Mrs, Dr, etc. are acceptable in formal writing. So are very common abbreviations such as pm.

The first time an acronym or an initialism is used in a piece of writing, it is wise to write the name in full followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.

For more guidelines concerning punctuation in abbreviations go to Oxford Dictionaries.

E.G. and I.E.

The abbreviation e.g. means for example (from the Latin exempli gratia), whereas i.e. means that is or in other words (from the Latin id est).

In American English there is usually a period after each letter in the abbreviation (AmE: e.g. and i.e.). In British English the periods can be omitted (BrE: e.g./eg and i.e./ie). In American English it is common to add a comma after both these abbreviations. In British English the comma is not usually added. There is leniency in all conventions but the golden rule is: BE CONSISTENT!

The difference between e.g. and i.e. – watch the video.

ABBREVIATIONS IN POLISH

For rules concerning abbreviations in Polish see:

• • • Słownik skrótów

    • Wolański 2008, pp. 79–80.

    • Jarzina 2003, pp. 44–47.

    • https://aristos.blog/typografia/6-kropki-i-rozne-drobiazgi/