Surely the word “abbreviation” does not represent something so unknown, does it? Well then, the act of abbreviating represents making something smaller, shorter, in terms of its extension. Thus, when our subject makes reference to some words that exist in the language Portuguese, there is the possibility that they may be abbreviated without altering their meaning, that is, the meaning.
For example: The other day I heard someone say:
- So-and-so, are you going to the ENT today?
Our! Thankfully there is a shortened form for this word that is so long. Imagine having to say “otolaryngologist”. Ufa! In the end we are already tired, do you agree? But don't worry, we can just say "ENT". This is a typical example of vocabulary abbreviation.
There are many other examples, of course, and for that reason, take the time to get to know them better, because, in this way, you will expand even more your knowledge about everything related to this dear language that we talk - the Portuguese language. Let's go then?
Some words can be abbreviated without causing any harm to the meaning
CINEMATOGRAPHIC - CINEMA - CINE
OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGIST - ENT
DENARY EXTRATOR - EXTRA
METROPOLITAN - SUBWAY
AUTOMOBILE - AUTO
PHONE - PHONE
PNEUMATIC - TIRE
PSYCHOLOGY - PSYCHO
One aspect that should be noted is that certain abbreviations only occur in oral language, that is, in speech. However, there are some of them that already belong to the written language, in the case of “Floripa”, related to Florianópolis; “Sampa”, referring to São Paulo, among others. Another aspect, which is also very important, is that, when manifested orally, they often contain certain intentions, which can be affection, contempt, prejudice (something that should be avoided, don't you think?) or even same mockery. Note some cases:
Portuguese – Portuguese
teacher - teacher
neurosis - neurosis
Bar – bar
Japanese – japa
Ah! Did you think we were going to stop here? No, there is one more detail: some abbreviations, which are becoming more frequent, are represented by the use of just a prefix or an element of a compound word, being used in place of a whole (representing the full meaning). See some examples:
Ex, representing ex-husband, ex-boyfriend, ex-wife.
Have you seen your ex?
Vice, representing vice president, vice governor, vice mayor, among others.
Do you know the vice candidate?
Video, referencing VCR.
Have you already taken the video for repair?
By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
