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Joined: Mar 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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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)
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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radar
quasar
laser
There's a hattrick to kick it off.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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by definition, strictly speaking, an acronym IS a pronounceable word formed from (usually) the initial letters of words. when it is pronounced as the letters, it's called an initialism. (using non-initial letters really results in portmanteau words.) Wikipedia has a fair gloss: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronymsome more examples: scuba aids and from the military, SNAFU, FUBAR, etc. [I'm sure this must be YART material :) ]
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 2,788 |
"vin" = vehicle identification number.
I hear it pronounced on radio ads for auto sales all the time.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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pronounced on radio adsI know this nitpick is a rehash, but vin is usually said as part of the phrase "vin number... 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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It is not too nitpicky for me! It drives me bonkers when people say "VIN number" or "PIN number" ... but, then again, I am a prescriptivist and our lot is destined to suffer such pains.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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A prescriptivist is just a descriptivist who is describing a limited (and often obsolete) subset of the language.
;)
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Joined: Jan 2004
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
A prescriptivist is just a descriptivist who is describing a limited (and often obsolete) subset of the language.
Or sometimes just an imaginary dialect.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
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It drives me bonkers when people say "VIN number" or "PIN number"
I just pretend they're saying "VINumber" and "PINumber" and leave the driving to Ralph Cramden. How 'bout folks wot sez "FB of I"?
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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How 'bout folks wot sez "FB of I"?
There used to be a bank in Tacoma called the National Bank of Commerce. My dad referred to it as the "NB of C" which he claimed to distinguish it from the National Broadcasting Company. I didn't see the necessity for the distinction as one would as rarely say "I am going to apply for a loan from the National Broadcasting Company" as "I think I'll tune in to the National Bank of Commerce to listen to the ball game."
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