Just for fun... ISO/ISO?

[EckoZero]

Those don't form actual words, though.

Isn't that somewhat subjective though? Why is Hud-my (HDMI) any less of a word than, say NASA? They're both four letter acronyms and neither of them are a "real" word as such.

 

[Josh66]

Eye-ess-oh for me. I only say acronyms as words if they spell one!

'Iso' is a word though. Or, a prefix at least.

I always say it as if it were a word - 'iso', as in isometric.

 

[TheBiles]

Those don't form actual words, though.

Isn't that somewhat subjective though? Why is Hud-my (HDMI) any less of a word than, say NASA? They're both four letter acronyms and neither of them are a "real" word as such.

You can't pronounce "hd" in English as a single syllable. Those two letters don't make a real sound.

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[o hey tyler]

"Eye-so." I thought this was common sense. You say the word just like any other acronym like SCUBA, LASER, and NASA.

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How do you say NBA, NHL, NAACP, AAA, FDA, NFL, CDC, HDMI, TTL, and so on? Just out of curiosity.

I say I-S-O, it sounds more professional.

Those don't form actual words, though.

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None of them form "actual words". They're all technically acronyms.

 

[TheBiles]

How do you say NBA, NHL, NAACP, AAA, FDA, NFL, CDC, HDMI, TTL, and so on? Just out of curiosity.

I say I-S-O, it sounds more professional.

Those don't form actual words, though.

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None of them form "actual words". They're all technically acronyms.

I mean things that you can actually pronounce properly. I can't pronounce "ZXDDSVM," but I can pronounce "RADAR."

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[Helen B]

eyeso. It's not an abbreviation - its a chosen word. The organisation's name has a few different abbreviations in different languages, such as IOS in English. Iso was chosen as a universal word to represent the IOS.

Best,
Helen

 

[Josh66]

Just to through a few work related acronyms out there ... FOD (Foreign Object Deris/Damage (it's both, debris or damage, depending on context) I always say as a word, as do most other people I work with.

SRM (Structural Repair Manual), IPC (Illustrated Parts Catalog), TO (Technical Order) - I always spell out.

 

[mikehaugen]

Although the term acronym is widely used to describe any abbreviation formed from initial letters,[3] most dictionaries define acronym to mean "a word" in its original sense,[4][5][6] while some include a secondary indication of usage, attributing to acronym the same meaning as that of initialism.[7][8][9] According to the primary definition found in most dictionaries, examples of acronyms are NATO (pronounced /ˈneɪtoʊ/), scuba (/ˈskuːbə/), and radar (/ˈreɪdɑr/), while examples of initialisms are FBI (/ˌɛfˌbiːˈaɪ/) and HTML (/ˌeɪtʃˌtiːˌɛmˈɛl/).[4][8][10]

Taken from wikipedia, I say it as a single word, but to each his own.

 

[Helen B]

I always used 'acronym' to refer specifically to an abbreviation that was pronounced as a word rather than as the individual letters. That is to say that acronym and abbreviation (and initialism for that matter) are not synonymous - they have specific nuances of meaning.

 

[TheBiles]

Although the term acronym is widely used to describe any abbreviation formed from initial letters,[3] most dictionaries define acronym to mean "a word" in its original sense,[4][5][6] while some include a secondary indication of usage, attributing to acronym the same meaning as that of initialism.[7][8][9] According to the primary definition found in most dictionaries, examples of acronyms are NATO (pronounced /ˈneɪtoʊ/), scuba (/ˈskuːbə/), and radar (/ˈreɪdɑr/), while examples of initialisms are FBI (/ˌɛfˌbiːˈaɪ/) and HTML (/ˌeɪtʃˌtiːˌɛmˈɛl/).[4][8][10]

Taken from wikipedia, I say it as a single word, but to each his own.

TIL a new word!

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[Studio7Four]

How do you say NBA, NHL, NAACP, AAA, FDA, NFL, CDC, HDMI, TTL, and so on? Just out of curiosity.

Out of curiosity myself, how do you say "AAA" - "A-A-A" or "Triple A"? Often acronyms are chosen specifically to roll off the tongue like LASER...pronouncing every letter is not necessarily the proper way.

I might give you that if we were talking about the International Standards Organization itself, then "I-S-O" may be more correct. But what we're really talking about is "a representative scale produced to the standards of the International Standards Organization", so just calling it ISO is already being lazy. A widespread, commonly accepted laziness perhaps, but still laziness.

(Can you tell I'm in the camp of "eye-so"? And that I like playing Devil's Advocate?)

 

[480sparky67 66]

None of them form "actual words". They're all technically acronyms.

So is NASA. But who pronounces it "En-Ay-Es-Ay"?

So is LASAR. But who calls them an "Ell-Ay-Es-Ay-Are"?

SCUBA.
EPCOT.
GESTAPO.
JPEG.
TIFF.
AWOL.
NABISCO.
SNAFU.
ZIP (Code).
IMAX.
NASDAQ.
SWAT.
NATO.

et al.

 

[Josh66]

So is LASAR. But who calls them an "Ell-Ay-Es-Ay-Are"?

LASER, actually - "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"

NATO

OTAN in French.

 

[TheBiles]

Might as well throw this out there too:

"Definition of word: one or more spoken sounds carrying meaning and forming a basic unit of speech."

Learn more word meanings at http://dictionary.com


Keywords: Spoken sounds.

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[Forkie]

I guess the moral of the story is, if it rolls off your tongue comfortably as a word, then do so. If it doesn't, don't!