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Special cases

We explain the differences and show examples of abbreviation, abbreviation and acronym above. However, there are still special cases that deserve special mention. Let's see:

1. Internet

The internet induces the language to acquire a reduced format, which became known as internetese. It is a way of spelling oral Portuguese, maintaining, in writing, the instantaneity and orality elements of a conversation.

You know this way of communicating: it is in online chats, chats, instant messengers — WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Skype — in mobile text messages, SMSs, and in social networks in general.

Abbreviation is the basis of Internetese, but the pronunciation of words does not change; the syntax rules also remain unchanged. The changes we have observed are only aimed at bringing written language closer to the way and agility in which we speak the language today. Take a look at the main features of the internet:

• vowel removal;
• simplification of spelling rules;
• suppression of accents in order to maintain the rhythm of typing and speed it up;
• non-standard spelling, open to different ways of spelling orality;
• exploration of visuality through pictograms, simplified visual representations with keyboard symbols. Ex: 😀 (smiling face);
• recurrent use of rebus, a combination of letters, numerals and images to compose a word. Ex: “d+” (too much), “9dade” (novelty), “v6” (you).

The language of the web is already studied and accepted as a linguistic variation, although there is conflict of opinion between sociolinguists and traditional grammarians. When the language began to become popular, in the wake of the spread of internet access, there were those who considered it:

• a closed code;
• an abbreviated script;
• a new expression that was opposed to the norms of the language;
• another language separate from Portuguese.

The fact is that, as a result of the informal environment that the internet offers, this new language has already become common and accepted by society itself. In addition to the existence of terms specific to the online world, common words in our daily lives have suffered quite peculiar reductions.

Let’s see some typical examples of these reductions most commonly found in our internet:

[sub_table]

Original version	Short version
Beauty	OK
friend	amg
You	U
where	Kd
Thousand	K (alluding to the kilo symbol, as we will see in the next topic)
Laughter	LOL
When	when
How much	Qty
No	Ñ
firmness	fmz

[/su_table]

And the list above continues ad aeternum. Now, at this time of the championship, when we talk about the reductions of the informal language present on the internet, it is worth taking some precautions when producing content, blz ? Meet them below:

a) what the style guide says

The style guide, or brand manual, has the function of establishing rules to guide the writer and other collaborators in relation to the standardization of text style, formatting and content type. In this way, all material produced gains uniformity and quality, no matter which channel it will be published on.

Among the rules are good writing practices that define the brand's language and tone of voice. This list should include, for example, terms that should be written in capital letters, recommendations for using the hyphen — online or online? —, the use or not of slang, among others.

If you are thinking of embracing the “internetese” in the post you are writing, be sure to consult the manual. Does he accept the language? If accepted, what kind of reduction does it adopt, since it is an open language?

There is no need to standardize reductions in the same way across all projects that adopt this language. Entities, companies, personal blogs, in short, each client has different norms and preferences. In short, take into account the advice of writer, proofreader and translator Luiz Roberto Malta: “Dance according to the music”.

Within the same project, however, there is no excuse: it is indeed necessary to standardize the reductions and the language in its contents. If the client does not have a style guide, before suggesting and/or creating one that complies with internet reductions, you need to know who your work is for. Therefore, the personas enter the scene, theme of the following item.

b) identification with the persona

Impossible to think about the writing style without having in mind who the content is intended for. Knowing the persona in depth is necessary to ensure that the message fully complies with the customer's strategy, and slipping in language can lead to everything being lost. In this case, some questions are pertinent, such as:

• Does my customer's persona communicate this way?
• Does the persona understand the common reductions on the internet?
• Does the persona identify with and welcome content with this language?
• Does the content justify the use of that language?

Putting these questions up for discussion ensures the quality of the text, its readability and the fulfillment of the agenda's objectives. Otherwise, the work will be in vain, and no action intended through the content worked will be taken by the persona.

Defining the use or not of Internet in a project, however, goes beyond the production of a text. The language may not be suitable for an article, for example, but it would be pertinent to write in Internet in the content dissemination channels — such as in social media posts, a more informal medium, and in the comments in response to users' questions.

For each client, a strategy. And language cannot be left in the background.

2. International System of Units (SI)

The second special case that we separate in this article concerns abbreviations, acronyms and SI symbols because of their own characteristic.

The International System of Units is the metric standard we use in scientific circles. It is important to know, at least, the main symbols, because the chances are high that you will use them when writing texts on subjects related to science, especially natural ones. And being intimate with them means avoiding mistakes, sometimes absurd ones.

To cite an example, it is very common to read around the abbreviation of “metro” as “mt” — or, even worse, “MT” —, where the correct is only the lowercase “m”. Note that missing a single letter is enough for the credibility of the content to go to the trash can…

There are still confusions related to “kilometer” and “kilogram”, such as “Km” and “Kg”, respectively. The kilo symbol must be spelled with a lowercase “k”, because the uppercase “K” is the symbol for Kelvin, the official temperature unit whose scale is most commonly found in the representation of the colors of light.

We often see it spelled as “mon.” the abbreviation of “second”, unit of time, when in fact it should be written only the lowercase “s”. On the other hand, “minute” is abbreviated as “min.”, not to be confused with the “m” of meter.

But don't worry, it's not necessary to spend the day decorating rules. In Portuguese, you can consult the Inmetro manual with all the symbols and abbreviations of the International System of Units.

A basic rule of thumb on the subject is essential to keep in mind: units of measurement do not change in the plural.

As you can see, it is quite simple to understand the use of abbreviation, abbreviation and acronym, and other cases of brachygraphic reduction. Just remember that we are talking about conventions, not strict grammatical rules.

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