Getting short about form

As first-year students adjust to the Queen’s community every September, they never suffer a lack of acronyms. JDUC, QCARD, AMS—the list goes on. An article published in Intelligent Life magazine’s autumn edition considers the growing usage of acronyms like these.

The Intelligent Life article suggests that acronyms are far from an adolescent phenomenon. The perceived generation gap in acronym usage has more to do with context—young people create and use primarily colloquial acronyms, while adults use acronyms in a professional capacity.

The Intelligent Life article’s perspective seems reasonable and rooted in common sense. The most appropriate way to deal with acronyms is to acknowledge that they are mere placeholders, simplifying common or technical expressions to save time. Acronyms hardly represent the demise of the English language—a fear often expressed by those concerned about a generation saturated with instant messaging and texting.

The fact that acronyms are so easily adopted in specific contexts—medical, bureaucratic, social—is a testament to the flexible nature of language. This flexibility is also indicated by the manner in which many colloquial acronyms become blanket terms without an exact usage—“LOL”, for example, can express many degrees of amusement, not just ones that make us laugh out loud.

The only—though very real—downside to acronyms is the burden of proper usage. While acronyms may save time, those who employ them must judge the context in which they do so. LOL may be fine in a text message to a friend, but not in an e-mail to a professor or teaching assistant. Proper context for acronym usage also helps ensure everyone is on the same page, as nothing is harder to understand than speech laden with unfamiliar short forms. When in doubt, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution, and employ them when you can be certain no one will be confused—better that no one get short with you over short forms.

With the above caution in mind, there’s no reason why acronym usage need be considered inappropriate. While time will tell whether acronyms are a passing fad or an entrenched convention, they’ll definitely be around for some time yet.

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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