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75ABBREVIATIONS IN ENGLISH
Nodira Erkinovna G'oziyeva
English teacher at the Academic Lyceum of the International Islamic Academy of
Uzbekistan nodira- gozieva@mail .ru
ABSTRACT
Abbreviations and acronyms are part of collaquial English, therefore it's really useful to know them when you are learning English. They are used by English speakers while communication, playing games, by email,writing essays and sometimes in conversation too. Normally they are used for saving time communication.
Keywords: abbreviation, acronyms, shortenings, meanings, ASAP, BTW, BFN, DIY, FTF, Aka, initialisms
An abbreviation (from Latin brevis,meaning short) is a shortened form of word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; It may consist of initials only, a mixture of initials and words, or words or letters representing words in another language. Here is a list of some ordinary abbreviations that English people use:
Aka - 'Also Known As' It is used when someone or something has another name. For example:
"He is Hames John, aka the Godfather of Soul"
ASAP - 'As Soon As possible' It abbreviation is commonly used on emails to talk about something that has to be done quickly. It is also used in conversation as well as in text.
For example:
"she really need this information, could you please get back back to her ASAP?" BBL - 'Be Back Later' It is a slang word often used in a text chat over social media or during online games. It is used when you want disconnect temporarily mid-conversation and be back in a few minutes. For example:
Player 1: "Do you want to start another game?" Player 2 "Yeah give me 5 minutes, BBL"
BFN - 'Bye For Now' This is another text language phrase. It is commonly used in chat rooms or online games. Also you can see it as B4N. Which is the same but using numbers as well. This one means the same as BBL, to let users know that you must leave, but will be back. For example:
SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS
VOLUME 2 I ISSUE 2 I 2021 ISSN: 2181-1601
Speaker 1: "Hey guys , BFN" Speaker 2: "That's fine. See you later!"
BTW - 'By the way' this abreviation is used in written and spoken English during a conversation to introduce a news, less important topic. The abbreviation BTW is a very informal way of using the phrase. For instance:
"We hope you enjoyed your holiday in Egypt - BTW, can you recommend us any affordable restaurant there?"
DIY - 'Do It Yourself It is used to talk about doing something yourself instead of paying someone else to do it for you. It is mostly used to talk about livelihood work in the home like building things or decorating. For example:
"I'm doing some DIY this weekend. I'm painting our bedroom and going to put up some new curtains."
FTF - 'Face To Face' It is used when somebody prefers to speak in person rather than online or by phone.
For example: "That condition is quite difficult and significant, therefore I would prefer to talk about it FTF."
FYI - 'For Your Information' This is used when we want to send an email or a short message referring to something we saw and we just want to share it to let them know faster.
For example: "FYI, today is my father's birthday"
TBH - 'To Be Honest' 'To be honest' is a really useful phrase to let others know you are speaking honestly about something. The abbreviation to TBH is used in chat based communications whereas 'To be honest' can be used in both speaking and written English.
For example: "TBH, he does not really like hanging out with Jasmina, she can be really hard work!"
It is obvious that abbreviations make our life easier. However, when using them, don't overdo it. Otherwise, people will say to you: "You're going OTT (over the top)!" We can single out the general inferences and enumerate them:
1. We can conclude that there are two main types of shortenings in modern lexicology: graphical and lexical. Initialisms are the bordering case between graphical and lexical abbreviations.
2. Abbreviating work or academic titles is common practice in the UK.
3. People in business use many abbreviations mostly because economic terms tend to be too long.
4. Initialisms are the bordering case between graphical and lexical abbreviations.
5. Graphical abbreviations are the result of shortening of words and word-groups only in written speech while orally the corresponding full forms are used. They are used for the economy of space and effort in writing.
6. There are three types of initialisms in English: initialisms with alphabetical reading, such as UK, BUP, CND etc.; initialisms which are read as if they are words, e.g. UNESCO, UNO, NATO etc.; initialisms which coincide with English words in their sound form, such initialisms are called acronyms, e.g. CLASS (Computer-based Laboratory for Automated School System).
REFERENCES
1."brevis/breve, brevis M - Latin is Simple Online Dictionary". www.latin-is simple.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
2. New Hart's Rules: The handbook of style for writers and editors. Oxford University Press, 2005. 2005-09-22. ISBN 0-19-861041-6.
3.The British Cyclopaedia of the Arts, Sciences, History, Geography, Literature, Natural History, and Biography, Wm. S. Orr and Company, 1838, p.5.
4. Adkins, L., Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Infobase Publishing, 2004, p. 261.
5. Gelderen, E. v, A History of the English Language: Revised edition, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014, Ch. 41.
6. Jespersen O. Growth and Structure of the English Language. Oxford, 1982.
7. "Websters new world dictionary" Michael Agnes 2003, p.334, 428,429,669, 704,708
