Abbreviations
What is an abbreviation? An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that is used to save space in written documents. Although abbreviations are mostly used in technical writing, they can also be used in many business communications.
Form: first and last letters of a word
You may form abbreviations from first and last letters of a word e.g. Dr (doctor), Dy (deputy), Lt (Lieutenant) and St (Street). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce “Street” for “St”; “Lieutenant” for “Lt” and pronounce and “Mister” for “Mr”
Form: most important letters of a word
You may also form abbreviations from most important letters of a word or phrase e.g. Ltd (Limited). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce ” Limited” for “Ltd”
Form: first few letters of a word
You may also form abbreviations from first few letters of a word or phrase e.g. Ave. (Avenue), Encl. (Enclosure) and Feb. (February). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce “Avenue” for “Ave”; “Enclosure” for “Encl.” Please understand that an abbreviation does not normally have a distinctive pronunciation of its own.
Abbreviations vs Contractions
Acronyms are word formed from the initial syllable or letters of each word or phrase, e.g. radar (RAdio Detecting And Ranging) Many corporate bodies have lengthy names which are commonly abbreviated to a set of initials written in capital letters, usually with no full stops. Consider few familiar examples:
- BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
- CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
- MP Member of Parliament
You must be able to distinguish between Abbreviations and contractions. A contraction does have its own distinctive pronunciation: for example, the contraction “can’t” is pronounced differently from “cannot”, and the contraction “she’s” is pronounced differently from “she is” or “she has”.
Use of Full Stops or Periods
The use of full stops or periods in these abbreviations is the matter of concern for Americans. American usage prefers (A) Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and St., with full stops or periods. British usage on the other hand favors omitting the full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr and St.
American and British Usage
Consider the well known abbreviations: a.m. (`ante merediem’) and p.m. (`post merediem’): 10.00 a.m., six p.m. Note the use of the full stops. This format is always acceptable. Please note that American usage prefers (A) 10.00 am and six pm, with lowercase letters and no full stops whereas the British usage prefers lowercase letters with full stops.
Please consider another set of popular abbreviations b.c. (“Before Christ”) and a.d. (“Anno Domini“). The abbreviations are usually written in lowercase letters, for marking dates as before Christ or after the birth of Christ. It is formal to write b.c. or a.d. before the date, but nowadays it is often written after the date, e.g. 786 b.c. or 1026 a.d.
You may be familiar with number of Latin abbreviations which are frequently used in business communications. Please note some of the popular abbreviations most commonly used in business communications with their meaning:
a/c account
Amer American
appar. Apparently
attn. (for the) attention (of)
B/E bill of exchange
B/L bill of lading
B/M bill of materials
Brit British
bus. business
CC carbon copy
cf. compare (Latin: confer)
CFR. cost and freight
CIF cost, insurance, freight
CIP carriage and insurance paid to
c/n credit note
c/o care of
COD cash on delivery
com. commerce
Corp. Corporation
CPT carriage paid to
CWO cash with order
D/A documents against acceptance
DDP delivery duty paid
DDU delivery duty unpaid
DES delivered ex ship
Dist district
DN debit note
D/P documents against payment
dt date
e.g. for example (Latin exempli gratia)
et al. and other people (Latin et alii)
etc. and so forth (Latin et cetra)
enc(s) enclosure(s)
EXW ex works
fax facsimile
FOB free on board
FOR free on rail
govt. government
i.e. in other words (Latin id est)
ibid. In the same book, chapter, page etc. (Latin ibidem)
Inc Incorporated(US)
L/C letter of credit
Ltd limited
nb. note
NOO not on original
P&P; postage and packing
pdd probable date of delivery
p.p. on behalf of
PIN postal index number
PTO please turn over
RE with reference to, regarding
ref reference
RRP recommended retail price
SAE stamped addresses envelope
VAT Value Added Tax
yr year
ZIP (code) zone of improved delivery (US)
