[fov]

I've NEVER seen HI virus... and I work in healthcare.

The Lynne Truss book is a fun read. She's a bit of a punctuation maniac.

-emily

[simpson_yellow]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

I hate it when people say "sup" or "prolly".

Oh, sweet maiden of the spit
Grant me this boon
That I might sup
Upon suckling pig this noon

[Royal Fool]

When people type 'ya' instead of 'yeah', 'yes' or 'yah'. It really makes me scream inside my head.

[lumi]

Originally Posted by Royal Fool

When people type 'ya' instead of 'yeah', 'yes' or 'yah'. It really makes me scream inside my head.

"Ya, shur, yu betcha." That's what I'm reminded of by 'ya.' It's from a local comedy show most of you probably wouldn't know about. They were parodying the Scandinavians around here.




UFF DA!

[AFGNCAAP]

I'm not sure about this HIV/PIN/ATM issue. From the logician's point of view, "HIV virus" et al are, obviously, stupid things to say. However, speaking a particular language, I should be aware of words' meaning - but am I expected to know their origins?

I mean, LASER was concocted as an acronym for "Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation". Keeping that in mind, how much sense do expressions "laser beams" or "laser blaster" make? But since the word laser has been accepted as a regular word (something, I feel, could be also said about "HIV" - but not necessarily about "PIN" for instance), this seems an etymological paradox rather than an error.

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by fov

I've NEVER seen HI virus... and I work in healthcare.

Well, you can't see them with your naked eye. Working in healthcare, you should realise that...

[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

I mean, LASER was concocted as an acronym for "Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation". Keeping that in mind, how much sense do expressions "laser beams" or "laser blaster" make? But since the word laser has been accepted as a regular word (something, I feel, could be also said about "HIV" - but not necessarily about "PIN" for instance), this seems an etymological paradox rather than an error.

It's a good point. Language tends to change over time. The test that dictionaries like the OED use is supposed to be "common usage". Are some of the things we're complaining about now "common usage"? Dpes that make them acceptable in day to day talk? Do our complaints mean we're not "common"?

But to take PolloDiablo's point I think we need to be careful not to use homonyms when typing. It's hard enough for non-native speakers (or even native speakers) to understand English without us using the wrong words all the time.

[fov]

I learned at a medical writer's conference last year that a word like "HIV" and a word like "laser" are actually two different things.

Technically speaking, an acronym is a word made up from the first letters of the words it stands for, that's pronounced as a word (not as a collection of letters) - like "laser."

HIV is also made up from the first letters of the words it stands for, but because it's pronounced H.I.V. -- not "hiv" -- it's an initialism, not an acronym. (AIDS is an acronym though.)

Not that this matters much. But I think if it's an acronym, it's not really important to know what the origin of the word is, because it has taken on its own meaning. So "laser radiation" doesn't bother me. But an initialism, like HIV, is not its own word, just a collection of letters, so it is important to know what it stands for because what it stands for is *all it is*. Hence "HIV virus" being redundant.

So "PIN number" doesn't bother me. "P.I.N. number" would.

Er... yeah. I'm a geek.

Well, you can't see them with your naked eye. Working in healthcare, you should realise that...

(I never claimed to be a scientist... )

emily

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by fov

I learned at a medical writer's conference last year that a word like "HIV" and a word like "laser" are actually two different things.

Technically speaking, an acronym is a word made up from the first letters of the words it stands for, that's pronounced as a word (not as a collection of letters) - like "laser."

HIV is also made up from the first letters of the words it stands for, but because it's pronounced H.I.V. -- not "hiv" -- it's an initialism, not an acronym. (AIDS is an acronym though.)

Not that this matters much. But I think if it's an acronym, it's not really important to know what the origin of the word is, because it has taken on its own meaning. So "laser radiation" doesn't bother me. But an initialism, like HIV, is not its own word, just a collection of letters, so it is important to know what it stands for because what it stands for is *all it is*. Hence "HIV virus" being redundant.

So "PIN number" doesn't bother me. "P.I.N. number" would.

I see. At first I didn't know what you mean, because "HIV" is pronounced "hiv"... in Polish, but when I realised my mistake, all you say sounds very logical. I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

[pinkgothic]

Where I make typoes?

...any german words.