You may have already wondered what the difference is between abbreviation, abbreviation and acronym, Is not it? Yes, there is a considerable difference between these three elements and we will explain it to you now.
THE Abbreviation it is the reduction of words to a few letters or syllables. This reduction represents part of the word as equivalent to the whole. The abbreviation is intended to save space or time. Look at the examples:
January = Jan. |
July = July |
February = Feb. |
August = Aug. |
March = sea. |
September = Sept. |
April = Apr. |
October = Oct. |
May = May (no abbreviation allowed) |
November = November |
June = June |
December = December. |
The same happens with the graphical representation of the Brazilian states when we use RS for to represent Rio Grande do Sul, RJ to represent Rio de Janeiro, PA to represent Pará and so on.
THEAbbreviation it is the phonetic reduction or omission of part of the word. A typical example of linguistic economy, it occurs especially with words considered large. Look at the examples:
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photography = photo Metro = subway kilogram = kilo television = TV |
THE Initials is a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letters of some words, especially words from a particular institution. Examples:
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UN = United Nations ABNT = Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABL = Brazilian Academy of Letters CREA = Regional Council of Engineering and Architecture. LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. |
Some are from other languages, especially English, and when they are used assiduously, they end up substituting the very word from which they originated, which is the case of the Laser example, which you saw above.
Summarizing: The abbreviation aims to save space and time by representing part of the word as equivalent to a whole;
The abbreviation is the reduction of a word based on the concept of linguistic economy;
The acronym is formed by the initial letters of a word.
Okay, so it's easier to understand the difference between these three elements very used in our Portuguese language, isn't it?
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
