Proper Names, Abbreviations, Technical Terms, Slang

There are five kinds of phrases used in the English language: proper names, abbreviations, acronyms, technical terms, and slang. Though they are all used on a daily basis for a variety of purposes, they are all distinctly different in their own ways.

A proper name is the title given to a person or thing, usually capitalized. Names of people, specific locations, and specific things have proper names. Examples of proper names are William, Chicago, and Chevrolet.

Acronyms are shortened titles of proper names. These appear in the corporate world, science and medicine, computer technology, academics and education, and in popular culture. In the corporate world, a CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer. There is also the CFO, COO, and CIO which stand for Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Information Officer.

In the field of science, DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is also known as NASA.

For computer experts, SCSI (commonly pronounced as "scuzzy") stands for Small Computer Standard Interface. The NEA in academia stands for the National Educational Association, but it is also known for the National Endowment for the Arts. College students might attend UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles.

Popular culture also has its share of acronyms. People talk about baseball's MVP (Most Valuable Player) and basketballs NCAA and the NFL for National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association.
When chat room talkers LOL, ROFL, and BRB, they're “laughing out loud,” “rolling on the floor laughing,” or “will be right back.” When two people want to meet in real life, they ask to meet IRL.

Abbreviations are different than acronyms. Instead of using the first letter in each word of the title, abbreviations are abbreviated or shortened forms of names. Examples include Ext. for telephone extension, drive is DR, street and avenue is ST and AV.

Technical terms in a specific profession such as in medicine or the legal professions are sometimes called jargon. Affidavit, indictment, Miranda rights, and subpoena are all legal terms. Medical terms include lacerate, cadaver, and sarcoma.

Slang, or slanguage, is the last type of term in the English language. Slang words are informal phrases used in everyday modern conversation. Examples of slang terminology are: sweet tooth, phat, back seat driver, blow chunks, and 24/7.





World web dictionary. "Proper Name." Copyright 2006. WorldWebOnline. October 11, 2006. http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/PROPERNAME

Acronym Finder. Mountain Data Systems. October 11, 2006. Copyright 2006. October 11, 2006. http://www.acronymfinder.com/

"technical terminology." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. The Gale Group, Inc, 1998. Answers.com 11 Oct. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/jargon-1

"technical terminology." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com 11 Oct. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/jargon-1

VanderStichele, Robert. "English dictionary of medical terms." Heymans Institute of Pharmacology. June 3, 2000. University of Gent, De Pintelaan. October 11, 2006. http://users.ugent.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/DIC/dictio 05.html

Charles and Lawrence Kelly. "Commonly Used American Slang." Interesting Things for ESL Students. Copyright 1998. Charles Kelly and Larry Kelly. October 11, 2006. http://www.manythings.org/slang/
"Slang." EnglishDaily. October 11, 2006. http://www.englishdaily626.com/slang.php

United States Postal Service. "Commonly used street, suffix, or abbreviation/ Standard suffix abbreviation." United States Postal Service. October 11, 2006. http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbr_suffix.txt