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Acronym

In the Spanish language there is a great variety of words that are often pronounced but whose meaning is not known. Among these curiosities of the language we find the acronyms, which are words that are formed by the union of elements of two or more words, or it can also be an acronym that, due to its widespread use, is pronounced as a word .. The formation of acronyms is very common to observe in the area of science and new technologies where it is necessary to shape new words in order to designatenew realities.

What is an acronym?

An acronym is a word that is composed or formed by the initial letters that belong to a compound name and that also conforms to all the laws and rules that the phonetics of the Spanish language have.

Characteristics of the acronym

Among the main characteristics that we can observe in the acronyms we mention the following:

Etymologically, the word acronym is formed from the prefix acro-, from the Greek ἄκρος (ácros), which means “ extreme ”, and the suffix -ónimo, which derives from the Greek ὄνομα (ónoma), which means “ name ”.
Due to their configuration they can be pronounced as a single word.
They are read the same way they are written.
Its meaning is made up of the sum of the senses that the word that composes it has.
Many acronyms are created mainly in the scientific and technological field .
In order to create acronyms, only nouns, adjectives and verbs can be taken into account.
Articles are completely omitted from its composition, as are articles, prepositions and conjugations.
They follow the general rules of Spanish grammar regarding the formation of plurals.
They are written in the sort of the main element.
They can be created by a word that is formed from the union of elements of two or more words.
It can also be an acronym that can be pronounced like a word.

What is it for

Acronyms can have many important uses, one of these uses that are given to these types of words is to be able to remember information and names more easily. It must be remembered that acronyms use the first letters of each word to be formed, regardless of whether it is a word with meaning or if it lacks it, it is for this reason that they are considered an important element to remember things, objects or ideas. The acronyms also serve to be able to name some technological and scientific aspects, such is the case of some diseases or medical teams that use this type of acronym to shorten the name. Also, the acronym tries to reduce the size of a concept and make it something that is easier to learn and remember. It is also a mechanism for the creation of new words that can even become part of the vocabulary that is used every day by human beings.

How is it different from the acronym

The difference between these two elements of the language lies mainly in the fact that despite the fact that both try to make an abbreviation of a name that is more complex, the acronym uses the initial letter of each word while the acronym has the advantage to also be able to randomly use the letters that make up the word, so that these acronyms can be read as a new word. Also, the acronym is easier to memorize and remember than the acronyms. The acronym is then, the reduction of the formal name of aorganization, an institution, a political party or some kind of movement, such as LGBT, which means "Movement of struggle for equality movements for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders".

Importance of the acronym

There are several reasons why the acronym is considered important in the scientific field, in the technology area, in the business area, and in the industry area . A good acronym can even be very important for the success and effectiveness of a given project. They facilitate the process of remembering the names of a series of equipment, processes, instructions or installations that could be difficult to pronounce for some people, preventing them from forgetting them quickly.

Examples

There are many examples of acronyms that we can mention, but some of the best known are the following:

UFO: unidentified flying object.
RENFE: means National Network of Spanish Railways.
AIDS: acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
ICT: information and communication technology.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
LED: comes from the English language and its meaning is light emitting diode, which in Spanish means "light emitting diode".
Radar: also comes from the English language radio detection an ranging, which in Spanish means "detection and measurement of distances by radio".
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or its meaning in Spanish “Cultural, Scientific and Educational Organization of the United Nations”.