strathspey@strathspey.org:44557

Jim Healy

Acronyms and abbreviations (was emcee)

March 8, 2006, 10:41 a.m. (Message 44557)

Greetings!

Andrea writes:
>1) The English language, on both sides of the Atlantic has an obsession 
>about shortening words and creating acronyms of compound words. The same 
>does not apply to, for example, romance languages. Certainly not to 
>Italian,

Andrea, I must disagree. Try reading the Corriere della Sera without knowing 
the meaning of CIGL, CISL and UIL (the main Unions) An, FI, PDS, FI (the 
political parties) and so on, to say nothing of 'democristiani' or l'Ulivo. 
I will agree that other languages can be worse with business letters in 
Dutch leading the way with their t.g.v (in favour of) and t.a.v.(for the 
attention of) and dozens more abbreviations that make them unintelligible 
even to someone who speaks the language.

Jim Healy
Perth and 98000 MC