The Third Webster Standard Dictionary contains about 500,000 entries. The Acronym Finder
Abbreviations and acronyms dictionary
contains 5 million acronyms and abbreviations.
As a texting impaired senior, I am increasingly lost in what I read, after thinking myself to be reasonably well educated and at least average in literacy.
In reading a current on-line news article, I came across a paragraph that mentioned VOD several times. Without understanding what "VOD" meant, the article made no sense.
And so, an old person's rant and a question. Has the english language evolved to a point where the economies of correspondence and indeed conversation dictate a new course of study?
When intrapersonal relationships require a common language which has 25 times the number of "words" to carry on mutually comprehensible conversation... can this be good? When the media acquiesce to this change, are we improving the state of knowledge and understanding?
What of young people? Not just the nominal BFF or AFAIK or LOL... but the acronyms that we, as adults, have learned to incorporate in our normal day to day interactions... SS or SWR, DW, YMMV ... common language to ER (sic), but possibly alien to others.
For us, a matter of incremental, one at a time learning experience, but for young people, faced with trying to learn from the MSM
somewhat more difficult, or, even worse, causing misinterpretation, misunderstanding, or worse, fostering longer term ignorance.
.................................
On the first visits to ER, I misinterpreted DW to mean Damned Wife, Dumb Woman and Divorced Wife... based on the context or the first posts that I was reading.
................................
So, even today, I find myself regularly using a task bar link to an acronym search to help me understand what I am reading. I seriously doubt that everyone does the same, so that when a story about international relations references the actions of the ACIFFA, the reader has absolutely no idea what that means, and just adds to the growing numbers of citizens who vote, but don't know what they are voting for.
To help, "Should Schools teach Acronyms?"
Abbreviations and acronyms dictionary
contains 5 million acronyms and abbreviations.
As a texting impaired senior, I am increasingly lost in what I read, after thinking myself to be reasonably well educated and at least average in literacy.
In reading a current on-line news article, I came across a paragraph that mentioned VOD several times. Without understanding what "VOD" meant, the article made no sense.
And so, an old person's rant and a question. Has the english language evolved to a point where the economies of correspondence and indeed conversation dictate a new course of study?
When intrapersonal relationships require a common language which has 25 times the number of "words" to carry on mutually comprehensible conversation... can this be good? When the media acquiesce to this change, are we improving the state of knowledge and understanding?
What of young people? Not just the nominal BFF or AFAIK or LOL... but the acronyms that we, as adults, have learned to incorporate in our normal day to day interactions... SS or SWR, DW, YMMV ... common language to ER (sic), but possibly alien to others.
For us, a matter of incremental, one at a time learning experience, but for young people, faced with trying to learn from the MSM
somewhat more difficult, or, even worse, causing misinterpretation, misunderstanding, or worse, fostering longer term ignorance. .................................
On the first visits to ER, I misinterpreted DW to mean Damned Wife, Dumb Woman and Divorced Wife... based on the context or the first posts that I was reading.
................................
So, even today, I find myself regularly using a task bar link to an acronym search to help me understand what I am reading. I seriously doubt that everyone does the same, so that when a story about international relations references the actions of the ACIFFA, the reader has absolutely no idea what that means, and just adds to the growing numbers of citizens who vote, but don't know what they are voting for.
To help, "Should Schools teach Acronyms?"
