One of the phenomena of the 20th century was the rise of the acronym. Today, thanks to the cult of SMSing, new acronyms are popping up daily – some will survive, some will have the lifetime of a soap bubble.
When I was a child the only acronym I knew was the word “posh” which was derived from the letters P.O.S.H stamped on tickets for wealthy Victorians sailing to India. POSH was an abbreviation of “port out, starboard home” – in others words the passenger wanted to be on the shady side of the ship going out and coming home.
World War II gave birth to a swarm of acronyms and in the period immediately after the war acronyms popped up thick and fast – Uno, Nato, Unesco…
There were popular abbreviations of course – RSVP (repondez s’il vous plait– “reply if you please”) for instance. This was popular on all invitations and although RSVPis not an acronym, it has become a bastard word (if you’ll pardon moi, madam).
People now use it in conversation: “Please ar-ess-vee-pee me.” Sometimes they add “ay-ess-ay-pee” (asap – “as soon as possible”).
We purists used to raise the left eyebrow at such poor English. Some of us used to clutch the headbone and reel about. Even swoon.
In fact, seeing that those two phrases are pronounceable and made up of initial letters, they are acronymns.
Although the English language has 10 000-zillion words, we English wordsmiths are always suspicious of slick new ones such as “yuppie” – a young upwardly mobile person – and “dinky” – double income, no kids yet.
Lexicographer John Ayto, in 20th Century Words, says: “Acronyms have been the 20th century’s great new contribution to English word formation… They seem to have seeped into almost every aspect of modern life.”
Classified adverts are partly to blame – with phrases such as “mod cons” and “bes” (for bathroom en suite) and in the lonely hearts column “Young red-head seeks mature man with gsoh.” Gsoh – “great sense of humour”.
The young adult generation in Britain talks about “CAB” – to “crash and burn” (apparently meaning “mock”). They will CAB people for PDAs (public displays of affection).
Youngsters talk about finding UDIs when they wake up after a party (unidentified drinking injuries). These can be avoided by having a QNI (quiet night in).
This kind of talk is being aided and abetted by the cellphone and SMSing. You’ll come across “NFD” when they see some meat-head with red streaks in his bleached hair and a ring in his nose. NFD? “Normal for Durban”.
Commonplace in South Africa is R&R (rest and relaxation), FYI (for your information) and creeping in is NI (not invited) and NEC (not even considered).
Others in fashion are: opm (other people’s money), pita (pain in the ass), veg (very evil grin), motos (members of the opposite sex), mubar (messed up beyond all recognition).
Among younger readers who e-mail the Stoep I have come across “imho” (in my humble opinion), “fwiw” (for what it’s worth) and “btw” (by the way).
But mmw – Ayto is wrong. Acronyms and abbreviated phrases are here to say.
Mmw? (Mark my words.)
And how about these?
AAMOF – As A Matter Of Fact
AFAIK – As Far As I Know
BCNU – Be Seeing You
CMIIW – Correct Me If I’m Wrong
LOL – Laughing out loud
NBL – Not Bloody Likely
TYVM – Thank You Very Much
YMBK – You Must Be Kidding
YGLT – You’re Gonna Love This…