ACRONYMS are words formed from the initial letters (usually one, sometimes more) of other words such as AIDS formed from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and/or LASER formed from the first letters of words Amplification of light stimulated emission of radiation.
Some of the other popular acronyms are:
UNESCO: Organization of the United Nations for Education, Social Culture (There are several acronyms related to UNO)
SAARC; South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
AIIMS: All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
CAD: Computer Aided Design.
COBOL: common business-oriented language.
ESRO: European Space Research Organization.
HUDCO: Housing and Urban Development Corporation.
JIPMER: Jawaharlal Institute of Medical Education and Research
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)
(The list is endless. Readers are urged to consult a good general knowledge book for a fairly comprehensive list of acronyms.)
From the above examples, it can be seen that the essential characteristics of an acronym are:
1. They must be formed only from the initial letters of the other words.
2. They must form a complete word. There should be no period between the letters.
3. When writing, all letters must be capitalized.
4. It is not necessary that they have any relation to the meaning of the main words. (Ref. AIDS and main words)
But in practice, this concept is often misused by not following some/all of the rules of the characteristics of acronyms. For example, in the sentence “I am a MBBS”, MBBS is not an acronym because there are dots between the letters. Also ‘Viscom’ (Visual Communications) is not an acronym because the content is not single letters and is written in lower case. Neither Rs (rupees) nor Mike (Michael) are acronyms and are just abbreviations.
I want to record a very crude use of this concept even internationally.
There is a widespread saying that NEWS is an acronym for North, East, West and South, which is absolutely wrong. News is a separate word that means new events. It goes without saying that ancient events are not news but only history. They say that information is collected from four addresses, and therefore the four abbreviated addresses are marked as NEWS. That’s not correct because not all letters are capitalized and the amplification need not have a similar meaning with the abbreviated words. Second, there are more addresses than the four mentioned. News is also obtained from space.
Another incorrect use of this concept is the word LIONS. People belonging to Lions Clubs International record that the amplification of LIONS is “Liberty, intelligence and security of our nations”, the meaning of which only God knows. If “LIONS” doesn’t mean the animal king Lion, then how do you know the children of the members. like LION CUBS and his life partner, the Lion ladies? Are they ladies of ‘Liberty, Intelligence and security of our Nation’? A more important observation is that it is LION’S CLUBS INTERNATIONAL and not merely National. Therefore, the question of ‘The Security of Our Nation’ It is not clear that they are coining some words to accommodate the acronyms.
Therefore, Lions clubs are crucifying English words through immature translation. (The author of this article was an active LION member for twenty years and has spent a significant portion of his savings on social services through LIONS clubs.)
Some people make their own abbreviations and amplifications. In college student elections, we’ve seen that usage frequently. Suppose a contestant’s name is Sita, there will be signs saying Elect and select S (Sincere), I (Smart), T (Talented), A (Active) and so on as if Sita were an acronym for the four words mentioned. . What if the opponents write as Sleeping, Scheming, Devious and Steadfast?
Therefore, it is my fervent appeal to students and scholars of the English language to desist from crucifying the language by misusing this concept of acronyms. Acronyms are used for brevity and clarity. Sometimes they are also used as ‘secret code’. Let us not misuse this concept for narrow-minded purposes.
