Acquired English Deficiency Syndrome (AEDS)

A few headlines in yesterday’s newspaper:

• AU urges UNSC to deploy international force in Mali.
• RPF shortage hits security at MRTS.
• UPA wins FDI vote with SP and BSP support in the LS.
• M&M pulls out of AM deal.
• CMDA expects CRZ clearance for constructing 2800 dwelling units.

The list of acronyms is so long, you need reference material when you read the daily headlines. All I can say is MAHAINGTTIA. And the reference for this is ‘MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE’ - Peter Finch’s oft repeated sentence in the Network movie. Acronyms get pronounced – like NATO, WIPRO, and initialisms don’t get pronounced - like IBM and GM. Today’s world of communication abounds with these.

And it is not just the newspapers that use acronyms. Everyday chat on the internet or SMS’ has acronyms, like LOL and OMG…expressions that have become a part of the texting world. Unless you’ve fled civilisation to escape electromagnetic fields, you know that OMG stands for "Oh My God" and LOL means "Laughing Out Loud." You are probably also familiar with BFF (Best Friend Forever), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) and TMI (Too Much Information). Once acronyms are included in the prestigious OED (OMG, I am also afflicted with the disease) - Oxford English Dictionary - it is safe to say that they’re here to stay.

Some unwritten norms to be followed when using acronyms:

• Any term with at least two words must be assigned an acronym
• It must be defined in parenthesis, even if you'll never use the term again
• Don't worry if you've already used the same acronym for something else—the readers will know what you mean
• Remind your readers what an acronym stands for at random intervals
• If you're not sure how often you should insert these reminders, just define the acronym every time you use it.

Here is the correct way to use acronyms:

It is in the best interests of the people belonging to BPL (Below the Poverty Line) UPA (United Progressive Alliance) has to develop a Tax Plan (TP) that neither pinches India's Working Class (IWC) nor the Independently Wealthy (IW). It should come as no surprise that both the IWC and IW would like to see a Tax Plan (TP) that includes Lower Tax Rates (LTR), but the demand for LTR must be balanced against the needs of the Taxpaying Public (TP). As a result, the current TP should be eliminated.

I don’t understand why they have to turn everything into an ACRONYM. In the Corporate world for ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibition’ they use the acronym MICE.

Imagine reading an article titled ‘Logitech MICE at Ramoji Film City’ followed by the article that goes on like this:

Logitech’s launch of new Mouse will be followed by an event for their employees. Local MICE suppliers will have a chance to introduce their services to the foreign MOUSE manufacturer and also showcase their MICE handling capability to the foreign visitors.

To top it all we have abbreviations in text messages. A friend sent me a message after her love failure. It read 'AFAIR LUV B4 was serious. 2day sum1 luvs 1ly 2 njoy' which when translated means 'As far as I remember love before was serious. Today someone loves only to enjoy'

To such unclear messages and abbreviations, I have only this to say... IMHO IDK y ppl tnk its gr8 (sorry... couldn’t resist using the same language... please decipher it :-))

I am sure that someone like my friend Laila will post a comment as follows: OMG I dunno y u hv such a prob w/it. mks lif intrstng when you can't fig out what ppl are trying to say.  :)  lol  jkjk