More and more frequently I've been hearing the acronym, ASAP, being vocalized as a new whole word, a-sap, especially in the media...another case of an acronym emerging from a phrase (as soon as possible) to become an acronym, and then a new word in its own right...is there a name for this singular linguistic process, specific to the transition of an acronym into a word? (tsuwm?) How many other acronyms can we find that have become new words following this process? (i.e. AWOL)