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Acronyms and Word Formation Process
Well, as they say around here: one thing is one thing, another thing is another thing… In the case of questioning the title, plagiarizing the physicists, it depends on the adopted reference.
Let’s analyze it from the first point of view: in general, we give the name of acronym to the set of initial letters of the terms that make up the name of a company, an institution, a program…
The “guy who stamps postcards” works at a company that gives the song its name: ECT – Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos.
In our daily lives, acronyms are a constant presence and in texts they are a mechanism that optimizes space (newspapers, for example, need to dry their texts, both in the search for objectivity and conciseness, as well as for the economy of physical space).
Let us now proceed to the observation from the second referential: when the acronyms are formed by more letters and combined in such a way that they form syllables and can be read as a word. Morphology is the part of Grammar that studies the structure and formation of words and the acronym, from this point of view, is understood as one of the processes of creating words in Portuguese, alongside composition, derivation and other processes.
Thus, from the acronym that we mentioned at the beginning of the text, which is the simple registration of the initial letters of an institution, company, etc., we proceed to the creation of new words, by joining these letters. And what is the difference between the two cases?
They will always be acronyms, but if, when reading, we say the name of each letter separately – like the title of the song by Nando Reis, which is our company that sends and distributes letters and parcels – ECT (ê cê tê), we will only have an acronym. Now, if the sequence of letters allows the formation of syllables, we will have a word created by the formation process called Siglonimization, a process that can give rise to derivatives:
- USP– Universidade de São Paulo – is an acronym that we have already considered a proper noun, from which the term USP derives, given to the student of that institution (like the one who writes to them) or to any element linked to that university.
- Unicamp– University of Campinas
- Enem– National High School Exam
- Fuvest– University Foundation for Vestibular
Returning to the first case, there are some rules to be observed:
- Only existing or established acronyms should be used, according
to the official convention or designation (check a dictionary or the
website of the organization in question):
Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos – ECT (and not EBCT) - National Driver's License - CNH
- National Institute of Social Security - INSS
- Severance Indemnity Fund - FGTS
- Intermediate points or final points are not placed in the
abbreviations:
ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) and not ANAC - Acronyms with up to three letters are spelled with all capital
letters:
IML – Instituto Médico Legal - IOC – International Olympic Committee
- Acronyms with four letters or more must be spelled with all
capital letters when each of their letters or part of them is
pronounced separately, or only with the initial capital, when they
form a pronounceable word (formed by acronym):
BNDES – Banco Nacional de Economic and Social Development - Embraer – Brazilian Aeronautical Company
- Petrobras – Petróleo Brasileiro SA
- The acronyms that were originally created in this way to
differentiate themselves from others are kept in upper and lower
case:
CNPq – Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (to differentiate it from CNP – Conselho Nacional do Petróleo). - When the acronym is of foreign origin, the acronym and its name
in Portuguese must be adopted when there is a translated form, or
the original form must be adopted when it does not have a Portuguese
counterpart, even if the translation does not perfectly correspond
to the acronym:
FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation (Office/Federal Investigation Department – equivalent to our Federal Police) - FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- the pluralof acronyms is made by adding the letter s,
always lowercase (and without apostrophe!!!), when grammatical
agreement requires it:
The CDs were randomly selected among the students.
That's it! I will say goodbye to my dear readers, wishing you success in the upcoming tests, a great Christmas and a happy New Year! I will take a short break and come back with new texts from January.
