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Acronym Speak

May 14th, 2008

Today I sat in on a meeting about USCG training and qualifications that went like this:

“Why doesn’t the application cover the J?”

“Because they program to the 3710.”

“So we need to submit a CG22 to change it.”

“Are we sure we only want the BA and DM updated?”

“We can follow the other quals with a DSS Report until this is all resolved with the OCS release in January.”

“We still have the MSO to consider.”

“That’s a new REQ, so we’ll need a new SCR submitted to the RM Team. If we get it in this morning we might get it on the CCB this afternoon.”

This is acronym speak is how real-world business people talk in just about every professional work envrionment I’ve ever been a part of. So when you grammar-nazis begrieve us Netizens our LOLs, OMGs, WYSIWYGs, WTFs, SNAFUs and the like for destroying the english language, you are just being silly.

Sincerely,

ry

6 comments to “Acronym Speak”

  1. I will always belittle people for using “lol”. It doesnt really make sense anymore the way that people use it. It used to describe an action, and still does, but in the “talking sense” which angers me the most.

    Especially when people aren’t even laughing out loud.

    It is like people saying “sneeze” when sneezing, instead of exclaiming achoo. Dumb.


  2. FWIW Nicko has a point. I rarely LOL. I usually hehe. Does that make me a male chauvinist?

    BTW BMF FTW.


  3. I usually giggle like a school girl as well.

    Or guffaw. Or chuckle. Or cackle.

    And BMF is not FTW, he is a lame TLA.


  4. The military is well known to invent acronyms for EVERYTHING.


  5. y rly

    I use lol when I lol, otherwise I laugh the same way I have since getting online in ‘88!


  6. I had a similar bout with alphabet soup when I was working for a defense contractor:

    http://oranchak.com/?p=35

    I remember some poor bastard tried to compile all defense-related acronyms on a single web page. It was a scary thing to behold. There were like fifteen different translations of “AAA”!


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