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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYM

Understand the differences between abbreviation, abbreviation and acronym.

You must have wondered what the difference between abbreviation, abbreviation and acronym is, right? Well, yes, there is a considerable difference between these three elements and we will explain it to you now.

Abbreviation is the reduction of words to a few letters or syllables. This reduction represents part of the word as equivalent to the whole. The abbreviation is intended to save space or time. Look at the examples:

Janeiro = jan.	July = Jul.
February = Feb.	August = Aug.
March = sea.	september = sep.
April = Apr.	October = Oct.
May = May (no abbreviation allowed)	November = Nov.
June = June	December = ten.

The same happens with the graphic representation of Brazilian states when we use RS to represent Rio Grande do Sul, RJ to represent Rio de Janeiro, PA to represent Pará and so on.

Abbreviation is the phonetic reduction or omission of part of the word. Typical example of linguistic economy, occurs especially with words considered large. Look at the examples:

photography = photo metro = subway kilogram = kilogram television = tv

The Acronym is a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letters of some words, mainly words of a certain institution. Examples:

UN = United Nations ABNT = Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABL = Brazilian Academy of Letters CREA = Regional Council of Engineering and Architecture. LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Some come from other languages, mainly English, and when they are used assiduously, they end up replacing the very word from which they originated, which is the case of the Laser example, which you saw above.

In summary: The abbreviation aims to save space and time by representing part of the word as equivalent to a whole;

Abbreviation is the reduction of a word based on the concept of linguistic economy;

The acronym is formed by the initial letters of a word.

Okay, so it's easier to understand the difference between these three elements that are widely used in our Portuguese language, isn't it?