Abbreviations

“12 mbps”

Abbreviations

I saw this yesterday in a document about the maximum download speed made available by an Internet service provider.

Problem:
The provider misstated the download speed by one billion times!

Explanation:
The Internet service provider (ISP) was bragging about the maximum download speed that any of its customers could obtain.

The ISP was trying to say that the maximum speed was twelve megabits per second.

The ISP correctly wrote the final three letters correctly because lowercase-B-P-S stands for “bits per second”.

The problem is with the initial, lowercase “m”.

Lowercase “m” stands for milli, the prefix that means 1/1000 and is found in words such as “millimeter”.

The ISP should have used uppercase “M”, which stands for mega, the prefix that means one million and is found in words such as “megapixel”.

So “1 mbps” (with a lowercase “m”) is one billionth as fast as “1 Mbps” (with an uppercase “M”).

Solution:
“12 Mbps”

“et al”

Abbreviations, Common English Blunders, Foreign Languages

I saw this yesterday in an online news story.

Problem:
A period is missing.

Explanation:
There are three Latin phrases that mean and others:

  • et alii — spelled E-T followed by A-L-I-I — which is masculine;
  • et aliae — spelled E-T followed by A-L-I-A-E — which is feminine;
  • et alia — spelled E-T followed by A-L-I-A — which is neuter.

The correct abbreviation of any of the three Latin words for “others” requires a period after A-L.

An example of proper use is “the report presented by Jones et al.” (notice the period after A-L).

Solution:
“et al.”

“Acronym” vs. “Initialism”

Abbreviations, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Versus

Many people use “acronym” when they should use “initialism” instead.

Problem:
These two words refer to different types of abbreviations.

Explanation:
An “initialism” is formed from the initial letters in the words of a name, with each letter individually spoken.

HIV — from “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” — and NPR — from “National Public Radio” — are examples of initialisms.

An “acronym” is formed from parts of the words in a name and is pronounced as a single word. The parts can be:

  • initial letters (e.g., AIDS from “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”);
  • initial syllables (e.g., Interpol from “International police”); or,
  • arbitrary parts (e.g., amphetamine from “Alpha-methyl-phenethylamine”).

In case you’re wondering, a “truncation” is the name of the third major type of abbreviation (e.g., Minn. from “Minnesota”).

I believe that the tendency to refer to initialisms as acronyms can be traced to ignorance and to my “Devolution toward Simpler” hypothesis. Many acronyms are constructed with the initial letters in the words of a name, just as all initialisms are constructed, so there’s a natural confusion about these abbreviation terms. Beyond this, though, it’s simpler to say “acronym” than it is to say “initialism”.

Solution:
Use “acronym” when you say the abbreviation as a single word; use “initialism” when you say the individual letters of the abbreviation.