Practical part

     The reading of some graphical abbreviations depends on the context, e.g. «m» can be read as: male, married, masculine, meter, mile, million, minute, can be read as long-playing, low pressure.

     V Initial abbreviations

     Initializes are the bordering case between graphical and lexical abbreviations. When they appear in the language, as a rule, to denote some new offices they are closer to graphical abbreviations because orally full forms are used, e.g. J.V. - joint venture. When they are used for some duration of time they acquire the shortened form of pronouncing and become closer to lexical abbreviations, e.g. BBC is as a rule pronounced in the shortened form.

     In some cases the translation of initializes is next to impossible without using special dictionaries. Initializes are denoted in different ways. Very often they are expressed in the way they are pronounced in the language of their origin, e.g. ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) is given in Russian as AH3YC, SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) was for a long time used in Russian as COJIT, now a translation variant is used. This type of initializes borrowed into other languages is preferable, e.g. UFO - HJIO, CLI - JV etc.

     There are three types of initializes in English:

     a) initialisms with alphabetical reading, such as UK, BUP, CND etc

     b) initialisms which are read as if they are words, e.g. UNESCO, UNO, NATO etc.

     c) initialisms which coincide with English words in their sound form, such initialisms are called acronyms, e.g. CLASS (Computer-based Laboratory for Automated School System). (Some scientists unite groups b) and c) into one group which they call acronyms. Some initializes can form new words in which they act as root morphemes by different ways of word building: a) affixation, e.g. AWA Lism, ex-rafer, ex- POW, to warfare, AID So phobia etc. - J b) conversion, e.g. to raff, to fly IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), I cj composition, e.g. STOL port, USAF man etc.

     4 (there are also compound-shortened words where the first component is an initial abbreviation with the alphabetical reading and the second one is a complete word, e.g. A-bomb. U -pronunciation, V -day some cases the first component is a complete word and the second T-component is an initial abbreviation with the alphabetical pronunciation, e.g. Three -Ds (Three dimensions) - Abbreviations of words.

     Abbreviation of words consists in clipping a part of a word. As a result we get a new lexical unit where either the lexical meaning or the style is different form the full form of the word. In such cases as »fantasy» and «fancy», «fence» and «defense» we have different lexical meanings. In such cases as «laboratory» and «lab», we have different styles.

     Abbreviation does not change the part-of- speech meaning, as we have it in the case of conversion or affixation, it produces words belonging to the same part of speech as the primary word. e.g. prof. is a noun and professor is also a noun. Mostly nouns undergo abbreviation, but we can also meet abbreviation of verbs. such as to rev from to revolve, to tab from to tabulate etc. But mostly abbreviated forms of verbs are formed by means of conversion from abbreviated nouns, e.g. to taxi, to vac etc. Adjectives can be abbreviated but they are mostly used in school slang and are combined with suffixation, e.g. comfy, dilly, mizzy etc. As rule pronouns, numerals, interjections, conjunctions are not abbreviated. The exceptions are: fif (fifteen), teen-ager, in one's teens (aphaeresis from numerals from 13 to 19).

     Lexical abbreviations are classified according to the part of the word which is clipped. Mostly the end of the word is clipped, because the beginning of the word in most cases is the root and expresses the lexical meaning of the word. This type of abbreviation is called apocope. Here we can mention a group of words ending in «o», such as disco (discothèque), expo (exposition), intro (introduction) and many others. On the analogy with these words there developed in Modern English a number of words where «o» is added as a kind of a suffix to the shortened form of the word, e.g. combo (combination). In other cases the beginning of the word is clipped. In such cases we have aphaeresis, e.g. chute (parachute), varsity (university), copter (helicopter), muse (enthuse) etc. Sometimes the middle of the word is clipped, e.g. mart (market), fanzine (fan magazine) math (mathematics). Such abbreviations are called syncope. Sometimes we have a combination of apocope with aphaeresis, when the beginning and the end of the word are clipped, e.g. tec. (detective), van (avanguard) etc.

     Sometimes shortening influences the spelling of the word, e.g. «c» can be substituted by «k» before «e» to preserve pronunciation, e.g. mike (microphone), Coke (coca-cola) etc. The same rule is observed in the following cases: fax (facsimile), tack (technical college), trunk (tranquilizer) etc. The final consonants in the shortened forms are substituted by letters characteristic of native English words.

     2.4. SPECIFIC GROUPS OF SHORTENING 

     2.4.1. Blending 

     By I.V.Arnold there is a specific group that has attracted special attention of several authors and was even given several different names: blends, blending, fusions or portmanteau words. The last term is due to Lewis Carroll, the author of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass”. One of the most linguistically conscious writers, he made a special technique of using blends coined by himself, such as chortle v = chuckle + short, mimsy adj = miserable + flimsy, galumph v = gallop + triumph, slithy a< slimy+lithe.1 Humpty Dumpty explaining these words to Alice says “You see it’s like a portmanteau — there are two meanings packed up into one word.” Blends may be defined as formations that combine two words and include the letters or sounds they have in common as a connecting element. [see Appendix 4]

     Blends, although not very numerous altogether, seem to be on the rise, especially in terminology and also in trade advertisements.

     Comparing with this we can write the definition which is shown in the Oxford Dictionary of Grammar. Blending - a word, phrase or construction formed by the merging of parts of two other linguistic elements.

     a) morphology. Examples of lexical blends (also called blend words, word blends) are:

     bit = binary + digit

     brunch = breakfast + lunch [see Appendix 3]

     b) syntactic blends include such structures as I would have liked to have done it. = I would have liked to do it + I would like to have done it.

     e.g. Neither claim impressed us, nor seemed genuine. = Neither claim impressed us or seemed genuine + The claims neither impressed us nor seemed genuine.

     I do not dare, refuse = (modal) I dare not refuse + (ordiary verb) I do not dare to refuse. /12,19/ 

     2.4.2. Acronym 

     Acronyms by I.V.Arnold 

     Because of the ever closer connection between the oral and the written forms of the language it is sometimes difficult to differentiate clippings formed in oral speech from graphical abbreviations. The latter often pass into oral speech and become widely used in conversation.

     During World War I and after it the custom became very popular not only in English-speaking countries, but in other parts of the world as well, to call countries, governmental, social, military, industrial and trade organisations and officials not only by their full titles but by initial abbreviations derived from writing. Later the trend became even more pronounced, e. g. the USSR, the U.N., the U.N.O., MP. The tendency today is to omit full stops between the letters: GPO (General Post Office). Some abbreviations nevertheless appear in both forms: EPA and E.P.A. (Environment Protection Agency). Such words formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts of a phrasal term have two possible types of orthoepic correlation between written and spoken forms.

     1. If the abbreviated written form lends itself to be read as though it were an ordinary English word and sounds like an English word, it will be read like one. The words thus formed are called acronym.(from Gr acros- ‘end'+onym ‘name’). This way of forming new words is becoming more and more popular in almost all fields of human activity, and especially in political and technical vocabulary:

     e.g. U.N.O., also UNO ['ju:nou] — United Nations Organisation;

     NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation;

     SALT—Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

      The last example shows that acronyms are often homonymous to ordinary words; sometimes intentionally chosen so as to create certain associations. Thus, for example, the National Organisation for Women is called NOW. Typical of acronymic coinages in technical terminology are:

     e.g. JATO or jato means jet-assisted take-off;

     laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission radiation;

     maser — for micro-wave amplification and stimulated emission radiation;

     radar — for radio detection and ranging.

     Acronyms became so popular that their number justified the publication of special dictionaries, such as D.D. Spencer’s “Computer Acronym Handbook” (1974).  

     2. The other subgroup consists of initial abbreviation with the alphabetical reading retained, i.e. pronounced as a series of letters. They also retain correlation with prototypes. The examples are well-known:

     B.B.C. ['bi:'bi:’si:] — the British Broadcasting Corporation;

     G.I. ['dзi: ‘ai] — for Government Issue,

     P.M. stands for Prime Minister.

     S.O.S. ['es'ou'es]—Save Our Souls;

     T.V. or TV I'ti:'vi:] — television;

     Y.C.L. ['wai’si:'el] — the Young Communist League.

     A specific type of abbreviations having no parallel in Russian is represented by Latin abbreviations which sometimes are not read as Latin words but substituted by their English equivalents. A few of the most important cases are:

     A.D. (Lat Anno Domini) – in the year of our Lord;

     a.m. (Lat ante meridiem) — in the morning’; [see Appendix 2]

     An interesting feature of present-day English is the use of initial abbreviations for famous persons’ names and surnames. Thus, George Bernard Shaw is often alluded to as G.B.S. ['dзi:'bi:'es], Herbert George Wells as H.G. The usage is clear from the following example: “Oh, yes ... where was I?” “With H.G.’s Martians,” I told him (Wyndham).

     It must be emphasised that initial abbreviation, no less than other types of shortening, retains the valency, i.e. the combining possibilities of the prototypes. The difference in distribution is conditioned only by a change of meaning (lexical or more rarely lexico-grammatical). Abbreviations receive the plural and

     Possessive case inflections: G.I.’s, M.P.’s, P.O.W.’s (from prisoner of war), also the verb paradigm: okays, okayed, okaying. E. g. A hotel’s no life for you... Why don’t you come and P.G. with me? (A. Wilson) Here P.G. is an abbreviation for paying guest. Like all nouns they can be used attributively: BBC television, TV program, UN vote. [6]

     In the Internet there is such site as Wictionary. It’s the largest web dictionary. The term Acronym is the type of lexical abbreviation.

     There is a difference between acronyms and abbreviations. An acronym is usually formed by taking the first initials of a phrase or compounded-word and using those initials to form a word that stands for something. Thus NATO, which we pronounce NATOH, is an acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and LASER (which we pronounce "lazer"), is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. FBI, then, is not really an acronym for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; it is an abbreviation. AIDS is an acronym; HIV is an abbreviation. URL is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator, but many people pronounce it as "Earl," making it a true acronym, and others insist on pronouncing it as three separate letters, "U * R * L," thus making it an abbreviation. The jury is still out. (e.g. I vote for Uncle Earl.)

     It appears that there are no hard and fast rules for using periods in either acronyms or abbreviations. More and more, newspapers and journals seem to drop the periods: NAACP, NCAA, etc. Consistency, obviously, is important. [Wictionary]

     Comparing with the definition written below, we define Acronym by Sylvia Chalker.

     Morphology.

     1. Strictly a word formed from

     a) The initial letters of other words

     b) A mixture of initials and syllables.

     E.g. a) NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

     NIMBY – not in my back yard

                TINY – there is no alternative

             b) radar – radio detection and ranging

                 yuppie – young urban professional + diminutive ending

     Sometimes included in the general term abbreviation.

     2. More loosely, an abbreviation pronounced as a string of letters, especially letters that stand for the name of an organization or institution, e.g. BBC, USA.

     This usage may be due to the fact that the specific form for this type of abbreviation (initialism) is not widely known. [15] 
 
 

     2.4.3. Ideogram 

     A written character symbolizing a word or phrase without indicating its pronunciation. Ideograms are rather marginal to the English writing system, but include numerals; hallmarks;

     monetary symbols: US$- United States dollar, x - UK pound sterling;

     musical notation: n - key c- crotchet; g- flat,f- sharp;

     proof-correction symbols: p- correct, 8- insert full or decimal point;

     meteorological symbols:h- rain, t- hail, 7 - lightning;

     mathematical symbols: ; ;- infinity, 6- plus or minus;

     symbols in set theory: h – is an element of: xhA;

     logic symbols: ^- conjunction, 6- NOR;

     graphic symbols: i- connection of conductors, e- terminal (circle or may be fiiled)

     graphical symbols used in electronics: k- variability (noninherent);

     Greek letters used as symbol for physical quantities: a-alpha, d- sigma;

     miscellaneous symbols: @-at (in commerce), r -copyright;

     accents, diacritical marks and special letters: !- accent hacek, . - . - accent accute; /2,98/ 

     2.4.4 Contract 

     Shorten (a word, syllable, etc) by omitting or combining some elements. E.g. ain’t. A contracted form of are not, used also for am not, in the popular dialect of London and elsewhere.

     Contraction.

     1. The action of shortening a word, a syllable, etc. by omitting or combining some elements (especially a vowel or vowels)

     2. A shortened form of a word that can be attached to another word the two words together. Also called abbreviated form, contracted form or short form.

     Thus, both ‘m and I’m are described as contraction. Other contractions in English are: ‘s, ‘re, ‘ve, ‘d, ‘ll, n’t (= is/has, are, have, had/would, will, not)

     [see Appendix 1]

     By Kazakh scholar A. Ysakov Contractions are made by putting an apostrophe in place of the letters left out as in “can’t” for ‘can not’, “I’d” for ‘I would’, “she’s” for ‘she is’. Some very common verbs often get tacked onto the end of pronouns to make constructions: “is” & “has” become “–’s”, “are” becomes “–’re”, “have” becomes “–’ve” , “would” and “had” become “–’d”, “will” becomes “–’ll” & so on. Also, ‘not’ becomes “n’t” when you tack it onto something ‘did not’ – “didn’t”, ‘should not’ – “shouldn’t” & so on. All these shortened versions are particularly popular in everyday usage.

     The apostrophe is also use for possessives words showing who or what something belongs to – either before the final “-s” or if the word already ends in “-s” then after the “-s”: “Sue’s roommate”, but “Carlos’ brother” and “all the guys’ cars”

     Of course, there’s a danger of mixing up constructions with possessives. The word “it’s” is short for “it is”, and is not the possessive “its”. Think of “his” which nobody writes with an apostrophe. And you can remember that the possessive “its” also has no apostrophe. [see Application 1] 
 

     III. PRACTICAL PART

     3.1. “CYBER-ENGLISH” FOR INFORMAL TEXT MESSAGES, CHAT ROOM CHATTING 

     The longer a term or name is, and the more often people have to use it; the more likely it is to be abbreviated.

      The objective of textese is to use the fewest number of characters needed to convey a comprehensible message. Hence, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization are largely ignored.

     The dialect has a few hieroglyphs (codes comprehensible to initiates) and a range of face symbols.

     According to a study, though it is faster to write it takes more time to read than normal English.

      According to research done by Dr.Nanagh Kemp of University of Tasmania, the evolution of ‘textese’ is inherently coupled to a strong grasp of grammar and phonetics.

     Grammar

     Auxiliary verbs, articles, pronouns and prepositions are often left out. For example:

     u gonna come with us? = Are you going to come with us?

     am in a meeting @ the mo = I am in a meeting at the moment

     given Baz book = I’ve given Baz the book

     should arrive Tues = I should arrive on Tuesday

     The negative social implications of texting have been outlined; such as a harmful change in student academia, colloquialisms that have been regarded as normal language, (‘LOL’, ‘L8’, ‘CYA’) the disregard of face to face communication and bullying that has taken place through text messaging.

     An article in The New Yorker explores how text messaging has “Americanized” some of the world’s languages with English. The use of diacritical marks is dropped in languages such as French, as well as symbols in Ethiopian language. In his book, “Txtng: the Gr8 Db8”, David Crystal says: “Texters in alleleven languages use “lol,” “u,” “brb,” and “gr8,” all English-based shorthands. American popular culture is also recognized in shorthand.