Difference between revisions of "Abbreviations"

Revision as of 14:03, 31 August 2006

Abbreviations (1)

In general, when you write formal English, it is better not to use abbreviations. In academic writing, it is better practice to say ‘for example’ than ‘e.g.’, ‘and so forth’ than ‘etc.’ and ‘that is’ or ‘in other words’. (In footnotes, abbreviations are usual – often of Latin words or phrases. See abbreviations (2) – academic, Latin.) Think of them as on a par with contractions – don’t use either in acad. wr.

Abbreviations (2) – academic, (Latin)

Although abbreviations are frowned on in the text of academic writing, one exception has always been made. The use of Latin, the traditional language of scholarship in Europe, is still seen as being of higher prestige than mere English. Footnotes are often sprinkled with italicised abbreviations which do not relate to any modern English words, such as cf., etc. and q.v. The following table contains a list of some of the commoner ones, with the beginnings of an explanation for those who do not understand Latin.

Extra

There is also a group of abbreviations for the Latin names of some institutions, mostly Universities and Bishoprics. These are not much used these days; but you may see them in older academic books and journals. (In the days when the élite spoke Latin, and wanted to preserve an air of superiority over the rest, this was a convenient way of giving themselves an air of learning and mystery, and therefore of importance. Less prejudicially, perhaps, the habit is a hangover from when official documents were normally written in Latin. The Latin was often quite bad. So when the scribes had to name a place, they often half-invented a strange name for the area.) The authors of academic books often gave their qualifications as, for example M.A. Oxon. (indicating that they had graduated from Oxford). It was traditional for Bishops of the Church of England to sign documents with a cross and the abbreviation of the Latin name for the diocese. For example,  Cantuar. (or more familiarly  [Christian – or personal – name] Cantuar.) at the end of a letter meant that it had been signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Some of the abbreviations have been used for the names of English countries, in addresses , gazetteer entries, and so on – Hants. is used for Hampshire, and Northants for Northampton.

Note that the Latin, in both full and abbreviated forms, is given without capital letters. This reflects best practice in Latin; but the words are often given in English publications with capitals. Note also that the abbreviations should infallibly be given with a full stop – at least in the traditional forms!

The list has not been given to encourage students to use these out-of-date words. Don’t use them! It has been compiled in the hopes that it may explain some things that may puzzle academic readers. Some of the Latin words are very like the English of which they are versions (e.g. Lond. for London); but some are not at all obvious (Ebor. and Dunelm.) Others, like Cant., may be ambiguous.

The list may also be of interest. To somebody. Some historians may need it.

Latin abbreviation Latin word in full English meaning adjectives ‘of…’ Notes

aberdon. aberdonensis Aberdeen One of the four ancient Universities of Scotland cantab. cantabrigiensis Cambridge The second oldest University in England cantuar. or cant. cantuariensis Canterbury The highest ranking Archbishop in the Church of England dunelm. dunelmensis Durham Bishopric; and third University in England, 1831 ebor. eboracensis York The second highest ranking Archbishop in the Church of England edin. edinburgensis Edinburgh One of the four ancient Universities of Scotland glasw. glaswegiensis Glasgow One of the four ancient Universities of Scotland Lond. or londin. londiniensis London Bishopric manc. mancuniensis Manchester Bishopric. ‘Mancunian’ is also the English adj for Manchester. norvi. norvicensis Norwich Bishopric novocast. novocastriensis Newcastle oxon. oxoniensis Oxford The oldest University in England; bishopric; county

Abbreviations (3) – acronyms

See Acronyms

Abbreviations (4) – punctuation

This is an area where ‘the rules’, or at least the expected conventions, are changing. In the early part of the twentieth century, a full stop was used after abbreviated words – unless the last letter of an abbreviation was the last letter of the word, as in Mr as short for Mister, and Dr for Doctor. The practice since the advent of the computer has been much looser. Time and motion studies have encouraged organisations to omit the unnecessary full stops that used to fill minutes in the day of a typist. Acronyms like NATO (for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and short titles like BBC are rarely seen now in their traditional forms of N.A.T.O. and B.B.C.

So unless you have an editor or a teacher who maintains the old-fashioned convention, don’t bother with full stops in abbreviations.

In the older style, envelopes always had many full stops – and commas. (See also addresses (2) – punctuation) Schoolchildren in the 1950s used to be castigated for the omission of the stop in Ave. – and for its inclusion in Rd This led to heated debates about whether the ‘t’ in St (for ‘street’) represented the first ‘t’ or the last. My own teacher was quite clear, not to say firm, that in Ave. the ‘e’ was the first in that word, not the final one, and that therefore the abbreviation should be written with a full stop. This is how pedants are made!