Abbreviate

(Glossary Of English Grammar)

In Traditional Grammar

Abbreviate — [Descriptive Grammar] The term “Abbreviate” is the Verb that is used to refer to the action of shortening a Word or Phrase, in-order-to create and “Abbreviation”.

Errata

What is stated above is true — However, it says nothing about HOW a Word, or Phrase is Abbreviated.

Although Names & Terms are specific types of Words — it should be noted that MOST Abbreviations are of Proper Names and Industry-Specific Terms.

Although it is true that Phrases CAN be Abbreviated — this is far more rare than with Names & Terms.

The way that Names & Terms is almost ALWAYS Abbreviated as a specific TYPE of Abbreviation, called an “Acronym”.

It is also common to Abbreviation Calendar Years, by dropping the first 2 Digits, and only using the final 2 (with an Apostrophe in place of the missing Digits).

And another VERY common form of Abbreviation — which is not even thought of as an Abbreviation in Traditional Grammar (but is defined as being-so) is with what are called “Contractions” — Abbreviating a Word or combination of Words by eliminating Letters, and replacing them with an Apostrophe. (This is a product of spelling words in the way that they are pronounced, rather then spelling them correctly.)

Resolution

How Words Are Abbreviated — Words like Grammatical Terms and other Terms like those found in Dictionaries and scholarly texts, or even Days Of The Week, are usually Abbreviated to the first 3 or 4 Letters of the Word — followed by a Period.

Abbreviate ⇒ Abbr.

Friday ⇒ Fri.

This was also true with the names of US States (Although, in the late ’90s — they have been further Abbreviated to only two Letters, Capitalized, and without the Period.)

Wisconsin ⇒ Wisc. ⇒ Wis. ⇒ WI

Notice! — Abbreviations of Words in the way shown above are essentially only for two reasons. 1. They are used as a tool to save one the trouble of spelling-out the full word over-and-over again, in writing or typing, when that same word will be used multiple times within a written piece. Or, 2. To save physical space on the page (as with the abbreviations in Dictionaries). This practice has also translated to the “Virtual” page of websites as well.

However — we do not “Abbreviate” our pronunciation. In other words — when we see an abbreviation like the ones above — we don’t say: “Fry” or “We”. We still say the complete word — “Friday” or “Wisconsin”. This form of Abbreviation is essentially only a tool for writing.

Phrases are turned into Acronyms, which are Letter combinations that are made with the first Letter of each Word. They can be with or without Periods in-between the Letters. (But since the ’90s — it has become more common for Acronyms to NOT have Periods.) This is also true with Names of organizations.

I Owe You ⇒ I.O.U. ⇒ IOU

As Soon As Possible ⇒ ASAP

National Aeronautics & Space Administration ⇒ N.A.S.A. ⇒ NASA

Federal Bureau of Investigation ⇒ F.B.I. ⇒ FBI

Notice! — This form of Abbreviation is similar to those above, in the sense that it is done simply as a way of reducing the amount of Words that one needs to speak or write. However — with Acronyms — when we come across them in writing, or even when using them in speech, we typically do NOT say the entire Phrase. Instead we have two ways of pronouncing them.

- If the Acronym does not spell what sounds like a discernible Word or Name — like “FBI” — we simply say each letter: “Eff – Bee – Eye”
  .
- If the Acronym DOES sound like a discernible Word or Name — like “NASA” — then we DO pronounce it as such.

And of course — with the example of “IOU” The actual names of the Letters just happen to be pronounced exactly the same as the words themselves. “I Owe You”.

Abbreviations Using Apostrophes as substitutes for the missing Letters or Digits:

Can Not ⇒ Can’t

We Will ⇒ We’ll

1992 ⇒ ’92

Notice! — Since this form of Abbreviation actually follows the way Words are pronounced naturally, there are no conventions on how to pronounced them — as with the other examples above. What is very interesting though, is that: With Abbreviations like with the word “Friday” — we pronounce the entire word “Friday”. But when we come across the two-word phrases “Can Not” and “We Will” — we usually pronounce them in their contracted form “Can’t” or “We’ll”

As for the years — when we see ’92 (for example) — we don’t say “1992” — we just say “92” — just as it is written.

In The Common Tongue

Abbreviate — [Descriptive Grammar] The term “Abbreviate” is used to refer to the action of making shorter a Word, Name, Term, Phrase, or even the Number representing a Calendar Year. By eliminating Letters and sometimes adding Periods or Apostrophes to indicate that it is an Abbreviation.

Abbreviate = “To Shorten”

Abbreviated = A Word, Name, Term, Phrase or Calendar Year that has been shortened.

Abbreviation = The subject of the action of Abbreviating a Word, Phrase, etc. — Or the end result of the same.

AI Analysis & Overview

Now — listen to the audio files below to hear an AI Analysis of the term “Abbreviate” and how it is described above. These act Advanced Level lessons, but they will certainly help to synthesize and expand on the information given above.

Notice! — In the audio above — when speaking about the mechanics of Abbreviation — they incorrectly pronounce the abbreviations as Words — saying “Free” for “Friday”. This is obviously not wrong. Everything else, however, is correct.

Notice — This second overview was created after addressing the mistaken Pronunciation in the first audio overview — thus causing the speakers to focus, almost entirely, on the Pronunciation aspect, alone. However — the overall information is quite valuable, as it furthers the teaching from the first audio, above.

Notice! — Despite MOSTLY correcting their mistakes with Pronunciation — they also make the mistake of referring to the mechanics of pronouncing Abbreviations as “Rules”. This is because almost all AI has been trained on Traditional Grammar. These are not “Rules”. They are “Regulations” (as with Trad. Abbreviations & Contractions) and “Conventions” (as with Acronyms). Everything else, however, is correct.

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