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-as of [28 OCTOBER 2024]–
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*the ideal acronym forms an ‘easily pronouncable word’*
(a ‘word’ that has not yet been assigned a ‘meaning’*)
(are all ‘words’ required to have a ‘meaning’ in order to be classified as ‘word’?)
*otherwise it is a ‘sound’ / ‘symbol’*
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(technically, it is only an ‘acronym’ if the abbreviation is pronounced like a ‘word’)
(as in “UNICEF”)
(it is an ‘initialism’ if you pronounce each letter)
(as in “ACLU”)
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-an acronym is a ‘word’ (or ‘name’) formed as an ‘abbreviation’ from the initial components of a ‘phrase’ (or ‘word’)-
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(…usually ‘individual letters’…)
(as in ‘NATO’ / ‘laser’)
(…but sometimes ‘syllables’)
(as in ‘benelux’)
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(there are no ‘universal standards’ for the multiple names for such ‘abbreviations’ or for their ‘orthographic styling’)
(in ‘english’ (+ most other languages), such ‘abbreviations’ historically had ‘limited use’, but they became much more common in the 1900s)
(‘acronyms’ are a type of ‘word formation process’)
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(they are viewed as a sub-type of ‘blending’)
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*SKETCHES*
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