Sunday, April 28, 2013

Listicles: 10 Acronyms I Use Regularly

Photo by SeeMingLee via Flickr
Sometimes I feel like acronyms are taking over our language. Text messaging & social media has definitely influenced the way we communicate, even face-to-face. This week's Listicles topic, suggested by Jennifer, is 10 Acronyms I use regularly. Those of you who've been reading The Sprog a while might know how much of a linguistics nerd I am--if you're new around here, welcome!--so I really had fun writing this list. The acronyms that I feel I've been using constantly lately are rather telling about what's going on in my life.
  1. BF/EBF (breastfeeding/exclusive breastfeeding) Lately I've been reading about low milk supply & strategies to help. This is part of planning for the birth of our little girl in September. I'm hoping to avoid the BFing struggles I had with Sprout.
  2. ASAP (I don't need to gloss this one, right?) A classic, applicable to practically everything, I feel like I've been saying & typing this one a lot lately, with assignments due a few weeks ago, new freelance writing clients, not to mention my job search for PR work. Which leads me into my next item on the list:
  3. PR (public relations) I've just finished the certificate program in public relations, during which I probably used this particular acronym at least a gazillion times.
  4. SFU (Simon Fraser University) just finished there & have spent at least 14 semesters there over the past decade & a half. I completed my undergraduate degree there (Bachelor of Arts in French) plus an ESL teaching certificate in 2001. After nearly a decade teaching ESL, I decided to change directions & took a number of courses in Linguistics & Psychology between 2010 & 2012. When I realized that it would take me years to get all the prerequisites & the perfect grades to get into the Speech Pathology Masters Degree Program at UBC (sorry, another acronym) I decided to rethink my plan. When I found out about the PR program at SFU, it seemed like a really good fit. So here I am, with yet another certification from SFU.
  5. NDP (New Democratic Party) I've gotten some temporary work making fundraising calls for the NDP until the election May 14th. Every time I actually connect with a human being, I introduce myself with this acronym & ask members & past supporters for donations. Sometimes it even works!
  6. TMI (too much information) I've seen so much news coverage of various gory tragedies lately. When I know it's fiction, like the TV show Bones, I don't mind at all. But when I know that the image is showing real human suffering, I just need to say TMI & look away. On a lighter note, this acronym also gets thrown around our house a lot when dealing with diapers. I'm going to be really happy if we can manage to have just one child in diapers by September.
  7. TTYL (talk to you later) This is probably the only 'textism' that I regularly use. Though I am a pretty prolific texter (well, maybe not compared to some teenagers) I actually tend to type out my words in full, rarely using U, R, 2, 4, etc in place of you, are, to/too, for when I'm texting or tweeting. 
  8. RSVP-(pop quiz--can you actually tell me what this one stands for?) Not to brag, but we've been getting lots of invites to things lately, it seems. 
  9. EI (Employment Insurance) One of my goals this summer, besides finding a PR position ASAP, is to work enough hours to qualify for EI by September. Maternity/Parental EI, specifically. For my American readers, if you didn't know, Canadians get up to 50 weeks of leave after the birth of a child, care of the government EI program. To qualify, you need to have worked at least 600 hours in the past year. I'll be cutting it close this summer, but if I can qualify, it will make a HUGE difference to our family to have paid leave for a year.
  10. TLDR (too long; didn't read) Here's hoping you didn't think this in your head before reaching #10 on my list... ;)
What are you favourite or most overused acronyms right now? Are there any that drive you crazy? Share them with us in the comments below!


If you liked my list, check out some other takes on the topic by visiting Stasha's Linky over at NorthwestMommy.com. Just click on the Monday Listicles button over there to the right & you'll be treated to some funny new blogs, I promise!






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16 comments:

  1. shoot I didn't think about rsvp or bff or tmi....but i don't use them regularly I guess. Good list and not tldr!
    Actually very informative.
    So Ms. popular what does RSVP stand for? I always thought it was responday (that's my french or other foreign attempt). Anyway don't know completely but know it isn't American.

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    1. Thanks! Repondez, s'il vous plait! (too lazy to put in the accent aigue & circonflexe) Yup, it's French. :)

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  2. TLDR? Love it. I am in perpetual TMI but mine is less of Bones and more of leaving with males exclusively... great list.

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    1. Yes, this is one of the reasons I'm glad to be having a girl--so the genders will be matched in our house! Didn't want to be outnumbered three to one! ;)

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  3. I also didn't think of BFF and I do use that quite a bit. I also use BBF (best blogger friend) a bit and didn't think of that. This list was fun and informative! And yes, RSVP is (please ignore my attempt at spelling French) respondez, si vou ple. So that's how I say it, but I'm pretty sure that's not how anyone else spells it. That's why we stick with RSVP!

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    1. BBF is a new one for me, though I have a lot of bloggy buddies! I'll have to start using it. :)

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  4. I'll have to start using No. 10. There are many emails that cross my screen where TLDR certainly happens.

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  5. Respondez, s'il vous plait! I've never heard of TLDR before. I hate acronyms used for texting. I NEVER EVER USE THEM. If I can help it anyhow. Maybe I've used TTYL? No...just on an email. I'm not big into texting though. Probably because my phone is pay as you go, and I pay dearly for each text!

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    1. Almost... there's no S in the first word! :) Yeah, I'm definitely not into texting acronyms... except I do use LOL & OMG. Also TTYL. The ones with numbers in them just make me feel silly though: "C U L8R"... not my style

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  6. LOVE TLDR. I will be using that one for sure!! Also on the EBF front, you may find your supply is better the second time - the first time I was on domperidone and a million "natural" supplements and teas and a rigid pumping-after-feeds regimen. And at 6 months in I got mastitis! Blech. The second time, maybe it was the kid as much as the supply, but things were just fairly effortless from the get-go and I never faced supply issues. Fingers crossed that you will have an easier second time too! I also prepped a lot the second time, drinking the tea anyway and just constantly BF-ing and it either helped or I was more confident or whatever. Anyway, good luck!

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    1. Wow, it sounds like you went through pretty much exactly the same thing as me... It's really great to hear that you didn't have issues the second time--thanks for sharing. I am crossing my fingers & preparing for issues, but hoping for smooth sailing. Or at least smoother. With enough milk!

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  7. We use TMI in our house a lot. One that I hardly ever use is LOL. I don't know why, but it bugs me. My new favorite is now TLDR - that was a new one for me!

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    1. Yeah, I always feel slightly awkward about using LOL. Like I'm a bit too old for it, or something. But I still type it fairly regularly... :)

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  8. I know RSVP stands for Répondez s'il vous plaît! (Had the look up the spelling.) That EI benefit sounds awesome. I hope you get it!

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    1. You're the first person to spell RSVP right in full! Congrats! Yeah, Fingers crossed I can scrape together enough hours to make it! I hope the US gets with the program & extends parental leave to a year like in Canada. It really is great for moms to recover from the birth properly, establish breastfeeding & keep at it longer, for parents--since you can split most of the leave however you want--bond well with their babies.

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