abbreviation - noun - shortened form of a word or phrase (Oxford Languages)
"BTW, LMK if you'd like to catch lunch ASAP. LOL!" is a quote I might see in a text from a much younger friend. If you are finding yourself running to a laptop to look up the meanings of abbreviations, don't be embarrassed. At one time, I did as well. And I still do.
I realize the language is forever in flux, but are abbreviations replacing words because technology has brought out our inner indolence? Yup. It certainly seems that way to me. Seriously, when I was a kid, I don't recall hearing many abbreviations. Maybe a few acronyms like SCUBA, but I can't really say. It is as though we have created a code that only people who have smart phones can interpret. But doesn't everyone have a smart phone? No. According to Consumer Affairs, eight percent of Americans (28 million) don't own a smart phone. Which is hard to believe.
Maybe texting via smart phones doesn't have as much to do with the transition either. More and more abbreviations are showing up in everyday speech. The other day, I caught lunch with three friends of mine who happen to be involved in the Hollywood movie industry. Other than CGI (computer generated imagery) and SAG (Screen Actors Guild), I couldn't pick up on the meanings of any of the other abbreviations that came up during the conversation: PA (principal actor), BGP (background performer), and SI (stand-in). Rather than interrupt the flow to ask for clarification, my pride demanded that I remain ignorant so that I missed out on the gist of what they were saying the moment that they were saying it. Oh, well.
Sometimes I feel as though the abbreviations are germinating as rapidly as weeds. Pretty soon, we will have invented a vocabulary composed primarily of them. Yikes! I'd better get cracking and learn the common ones, such as:
The two biggies in the news:
DEI - popular - diversity, equity and inclusion - featured in a Times op ed, how Trump has shuttered advances in civil rights
ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement
as well as these gems that have found themselves into oral verbiage:
BRB: Be right back (My daughter uses this one all of the time.)
IDK: I don't know.
TMI: Too much information (This is my personal favorite.)
ICYMI: In case you missed it
IMO: In my opinion
NVM: Never mind
TTYL: Talk to you later
OMG: Oh, my gosh
OMW: On my way
K: okay
As for these and other abbreviations, OMG, if you have FOMO (fear of missing out), just remember YOLO (you only live once), but there are some individuals who might argue with you about that. Personally, I'd rather stick with words as I don't wish to be misinterpreted. And you?
#abbreviations, #personal essay, #society, #blog, #blogger
