Confesso: non sapevo che ci fosse una distinzione tra acronyms e initialisms. A dir il vero, non sapevo neanche che esistesse il termine initialism. E così, come spesso accade, cercando di dare una mano a voi, anche io ho imparato qualcosa di nuovo.
Quello che accomuna acronyms e initialisms è l’utilizzo della prima lettera (o sillaba) di una locuzione, un’organizzazione, o di un’ente per formare una versione abbreviata della stessa.
La differenza, invece, sta nella pronuncia. Se ciò che ne viene fuori suona bene come singola parola, si tratta di un acronym. Se invece viene meglio pronunciarlo lettera per lettera, si tratta di un initialism. Ciò non significa, però che una locuzione non può diventare entrambe le cose!
Vediamo alcuni degli esempi più conosciuti per intenderci.
► Acronyms
| Acronym | Pron. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AIDS | eids | Acquired Immunodeficiency Disorder |
| ASAP | eisap | As Soon As Possible |
| AWOL | eiwol | Absent WithOut Leave |
| BRICS | brics | Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa |
| CAPTCHA | càpcha | Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart |
| FAQ | fæk | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FedEx | fèdex | FEDeral EXpress |
| FOMO | fòumou | Fear Of Missing Out |
| GIF | ghif | Graphics Interchange Format |
| JPEG | gèipeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group |
| LOL | lol | Laugh Out Laugh |
| NASA | nàasa | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NATO | nèitou | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation |
| PAN | pan | Permanent Account Number |
| PETA | pìta | People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals |
| PIN | pin | Personal Identifiction Number |
| RADAR | rèidar | RAdio Detection And Ranging |
| SONAR | sòunar | Sound Navigation And Ranging |
| SCUBA | scùba | Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus |
| SWAT | suot | Special Weapons And Tactics |
| WiFi | uàifai | Wireless Fidelity |
| WYSIWYG | wìziwig | What You See Is What You Get |
| YOLO | iòulou | You Only Live Once |
► Initialisms
Sono inclusi in questa lista solo quegli initialisms che vengono usati comunemente nella lingua parlata.
| Initialism | Pron. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AA | ei-ei | Alcoholics Anonymous |
| ABS | ei-bi-es | Anti-lock Braking System |
| AD | ei-di | Anno Domini |
| AKA | ei-chei-ei | Also Known As |
| ASAP | ei-es-ei-pi | As Soon As Possible |
| ATM | ei-ti-em | Automated Teller Machine |
| BBC | bi-bi-si | British Broadcasting Company |
| BC | bi-si | Before Christ |
| BMW | bi-em-dàbboliu | Bayerische Motoren Werke |
| BRB | bi-ar-bi | Be Right Back |
| BYOB | bi-uai-ou-bi | Bring Your Own Beer/Booze |
| CD | si-di | Compact Disk |
| CEO | si-i-ou | Chief Executive Officer |
| CPR | si-pi-ar | CardioPulmonary Resuscitation |
| CIA | si-ai-ei | Central Intelligence Agency |
| CSI | si-es-ai | Crime Scene Investigation |
| DIY | di-ai-uai | Do It Yourself |
| DOA | di-ou-ei | Dead On Arrival |
| DOB | di-ou-bi | Date Of Birth |
| DVD | di-vi-di | Digital Versatile Disk |
| ETA | i-ti-ei | Estimated Time of Arrival |
| ESL | i-es-el | English as a Second Language |
| EU | i-iu | European Union |
| FAQ | ef-ei-chiu | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FBI | ef-bi-ai | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| FYI | ef-uai-ai | For Your Information |
| GPS | gi-pi-es | Global Positioning System |
| HIV | eitch-ai-vii | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
| HQ | eitch-chiu | HeadQuarters |
| ID | ai-di | IDentification |
| IMHO | ai-em-eitch-ou | In My Humble Opinion |
| IOU | ai-ou-iu | I Owe You |
| IQ | ai-chiu | Intelligence Quotient |
| JFK | gei-ef-kei | John Fitzgerald Kennedy |
| KFC | chei-ef-sii | Kentucky Fried Chicken |
| KGB | chei-gi-bi | Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti |
| KYC | chei-uai-si | Know Your Customer |
| MIA | em-ai-ei | Missing In Action |
| MLK | em-el-kei | Martin Luther King |
| MMS | em-em-es | Multimedia Messaging Service |
| MO | em-ou | Modus Operandi |
| MTV | em-ti-vi | Music TeleVision |
| NBA | en-bi-ei | National Basketball Association |
| NFL | en-ef-el | National Football League |
| OCD | ou-si-di | Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder |
| OS | ou-es | Operating System |
| OTP | ou-ti-pi | One Time Password |
| PAN | pi-ei-en | Permanent Account Number |
| PC | pi-si | Personal Computer |
| pi-di-ef | Portable Document Format | |
| POV | pi-ou-vi | Point Of View |
| POW | pi-ou-dàbboliu | Prisoner Of War |
| PR | pi-ar | Public Relations |
| PS | pi-es | Post Script |
| PTO | pi-ti-ou | Please Turn Over |
| QR code | chiu-ar coud | Quick Response code |
| RIP | ar-ai-pi | Rest In Peace |
| RSVP | ar-es-vi-pi | Répondez S‘il Vous Plaît (francese) |
| SMS | es-em-es | Short Message Service |
| SUV | es-iu-vi | Sports Utility Vehicle |
| TBH | ti-bi-eitch | To Be Honest |
| TGIF | ti-gi-ai-ef | Thank God It’s Friday |
| TV | ti-vi | TeleVision |
| UFO | iu-ef-ou | Unidentified Flying Object |
| UK | iu-chei | United Kingdom |
| UN | iu-en | United Nations |
| URL | iu-ar-el | Uniform Resource Locator |
| USA | iu-es-ei | United States of America |
| USB | iu-es-bi | Universal Serial Bus |
| WWW | dàbboliu (x3) | World Wide Web |
Hai un acronym o un initialism che ritieni utile per questa lista? Mandamelo nei commenti e lo prenderò in considerazione. 😀