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1 but usually in those cases, it is a " Replacement " backronym, the abbreviation already having an associated phrase. When the backronym ''phrase'' becomes more popular than the original, the ''word'' becomes an Anacronym . But other than that, ''backronyms'' and '' Anacronym s'' have little to do with each other. The word ''backronym'' is a Neologism , coined in 1983.(although who first coined it is unclear. See and following note.) An example of a backronym from the word ''acronym'' is as follows. :Acronyms Condense Representations Of Neologisms You Memorize In this example, because the word ''acronym'' itself is not an acronym, the phrase above is a Pure backronym, not a Replacement backronym. Since the phrase indirectly refers to the word itself, it is also Apronym ic. Also, because the word ''acronym'' itself appears in its backronym, the phrase is also a Recursive -backronym. If this backronym helps you remember the word ''acronym'' or ''backronym'', then it is also a Mnemonic . BACKRONYM VERSUS ACRONYM An acronym is a pronounceable word created from the initial letters of a phrase: The word '' Radar '' comes from "Radio Detection and Ranging". Letters from the originating phrase are used to construct a pronounceable word. By contrast, a backronym is constructed by starting with a word (or an initialism) and, beginning with the first letter, using each letter to form the next word of the phrase. The word then becomes an acronym or initialism of the newly formed phrase. In this sense, a backronym is the reversal of an acronym. Since an ''acronym'' is defined as a word, and backronym is constructed from an acronym, it logically follows that the phrase must come from a word. However, this rule is commonly broken, even by dictionaries providing examples such as ''DVD'' (an initialism, see image) and ''SOS'' (a representation of the emergency signal used in Morse Code ). TYPES Backronyms can be classified along various types. Note that these types are not all exclusive of each other, that is, a backronym can be ''mnemonic'', ''pure'', and ''recursive''. However, a backronym cannot be both ''pure'' and ''replacement''. Pure A ''pure'' backronym occurs when the root word was not previously or commonly known as an acronym or abbreviation. Examples: Since its application to consumer generated media, some have suggested that "wiki" means "What I Know Is".
Brothers, Fletcher A. in "The Rock Report", 1987 cites a January 1980 ''American Photographer''
but the author tongue-in-cheekly suggests the backronym "Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister". Sometimes the backronym is so commonly heard, that it is generally but incorrectly believed to have been used in the formation of the word. Examples of these include:
2; published in the US as 3
4 The International Wireless Telegraph Convention makes no mention that it stands for "save our ship", "save our souls", or "send out succour". group became ''LG'' and is now branded as "Life's Good".5]] Replacement Some backronyms are Back-formed from an initialism or acronym that is an abbreviation with another meaning. For example,
"Specially Prepared American Meat", or "Spare Parts After Mutilation". After the word "spam" became associated with unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), it became jokingly referred to as "Self-Propelled Automated Mailings" or "Stupid, Pointless, Annoying Messages".
Apronym Many backronyms are apronyms, that is, the word itself is relevant to its associated phrase. The relevance may be either serious or ironic. Many jocular (and often also derogatory) apronyms are created as a form of Wordplay . Examples of this certainly include those of the self-referential variety:
In fact, most of the examples cited in the following sections would also count as apronyms. Mnemonic Backronyms are typically constructed for educational purposes, to form Mnemonic s so that the word or initialism is easier to remember. For instance, when learning to read Sheet Music , students often learn | ||
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/BCE" class="copylinks">BCE and CE , which stand for "Before the Common Era " and "of the Common Era", and correspond to the same reference system as do BC and AD respectively, were created as a religion-neutral alternative to specify the year Also, CE takes account of chronological errors, that put the birth of Christ in 4 CE, which would technically be year 1 AD People familiar with the meanings of BC/AD sometimes mistake the new initialisms as modern translations of the original initialisms, such as in "the year 570 of the Christian Era"{{citeurl=http://staticscribdcom/docs/7odjqj58j1hxgpdf |
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