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Pronunciation of Acronyms

BBH

BBH

Giga Poster
OK, after watching "Supercoasters" on the Nat Geo channel, I noticed they pronounced "LIM" as lim, as in rhyming with "Jim". I always pronounced it "L-I-M", but apparently I was incorrect? Would LSM be lissim?

It's the same thing with NCAA. I say N-C-double-A, some people say N-C-A-A. How do you pronounce things of this nature?
 
If an acronym spells a word that's pronounceable then I'll say it as a word.

For example, "PIN" as in "Personal Identification Number", I won't say the individual letters but "pin" instead.

I also say Lim, not L-I-M.

In the traffic light industry there are loads of acronyms such as "SCOOT" (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) and "MOVA" (Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation). It's easier to say these as words, not letters.

In a nutshell, if the acronym can be said as a word, I'll pronounce it as such.
 
Yeah, you tend to find that if there's a word to be made, it's shorter and easier to say the word rather than the individual letters.

Look at the syllables and "do the math" ;)

Lim is one syllable, El - Eye - Em is three.

El-Ess-Em is three, Li-s-sem is also three but... L-S-M people know you're speaking and abbreviated form, if you said "Lissem", they'd go "WTF are you talking about?" Lim, people could work it out.

NCAA I'd always do NCAA. That's counting syllables En-See-Ay-Ay - four - rather than En-See-Ay-Dub-el-A - 6.

The idea of an abbreviation or acronym is to reduce the amount you have to speak, so you should (in my opinion) always take it to that level, but NC-double-A is still understandable and I wouldn't put you against a wall and shoot you for using it.

I had an argument years ago with a brother-in-law about the Acronym for The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. The fans use the short form H2G2, which I said was exceptionally stuck up and elitist an "in phrase" to show that you were a real fan rather than any obvious reason. He said it was just the simplest short form, but HHGG is just as short and it should be THHGTTG anyway - which he tried to refute ;)
 
I've just always said certain things as their letters. Guess when I go on my first Live I'll really find out if I confuse people. :lol:

But what about, and I guess this is on topic but sounds weird, letters? Some British people say that we've completely knackered the pronunciation of letters themselves. Brits, ELABORATE!
 
NCAA: en-see-ay-ay
IAAPA: ee-aah-pah
LIM: ell-i-emm
LSM: ell-ess-emm

I'm an odd duck.
 
It depends on the word really. For NCAA/LIM/LSM and whatever I just say the letters, but for things like FIFO at work I just say the actual word. However it rolls off my tongue, I suppose.
 
Don't really want to know how it rolls off your tongue TBH. :p
 
I tend to confuse English-speaking friends when using acronyms, as I pronounce them as I read them: Norwegian pronounciation of every letter.

CF becomes "Se-eff" (weight on the F), rather than "see-ef" as many English speakers tend to say. B&M is "Be og Emm" rather than "Bee 'n' Emm", and so forth.

Though, trying to "shift" into English pronounciation is really hard. After all, the pronounciation of acronyms make just as much (or little!) sense in every language, so to me it's a lot like constantly putting on a foreign accent when speaking Norwegian.
 
Whichever is quickest to say it without sounding like an idiot I suppose. Example, you say Scuba Gear not S-C-U-B-A gear.

Gotta enjoy the lazy way of speech I guess :lol:
 
With most acronyms that don't look or sound like a real word, I just say the letters. LSM, AAU, ACC, MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, NHL, LMFAO, etc. Really don't know anybody who tries to pronounce those as a word.

For others that resemble words, generally if they're 3-ish letters long and contain a vowel sandwiched between a couple of consonants, I'll pronounce them like a word. LIM = lim, WAC = wack, YAC = yack, LOL = lole.

Not always, though, as neither I nor anyone else I've ever heard has pronounced SEC as "Seck."

For NCAA, I used to exclusively say N-C-Double-A, but somewhere in the past few years I've gradually switched to pronouncing it N-C-A-A more and more. Not sure why, but it is what it is. Really has nothing to do with which one is easier or quicker to say, either, as they're both much less of a mouthful than "National Collegiate Athletic Association." :)
 
I'm a bit like bmac and have them all mixed up...

LIM = El eye em.
NCAA = En see double ay.
LMAO = Le Mao. but
LMFAO = El em ef ay oh.
LOL = Lohl.
IAAPA = Eye aa pah.

And, well, you get the idea. :p

Oh, and whilst we're on the subject of acronyms, people on here need to learn the Six Flags acronyms:
Six Flags Great America is SFGAm./6FGAm.
Six Flags Great Adventure is SFGAdv./6FGAdv.
 
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