Initialisms? IMHO, Don't Use Them

What is the difference between an acronym and an initialism? An acronym is an abbreviation of a word where the initial letters of each word used in the abbreviation are pronounced as a word. Examples of this include AIDS and AWOL. An initialism is exactly the same, except the letters are pronounced separately. Examples of this include HIV and NCIS. If we want to get detailed we can also add mnemonic to this list, but for the sake of brevity I leave that to you to read about in your own time. If you're in business, I recommend that you do.

I'll level with you and admit freely that I enjoy the occasional initialism. In both text and Facebook messages I am much more inclined to type TTYL, LMAO, and IMHO than I am to write their meanings out in full. As an editor I know better, but it’s very hard to ignore the delicious autocorrect invitation to skip the typing, and even harder to argue against the fact that almost everyone knows what these letters stand for. The truth is, these are just a few amongst thousands of initialisms (and acronyms) that are universal and singularly defined. Most of the initialisms we use actually have double, quadruple, even tens of meanings, that span numerous professions.

Let's look at the classic example LOL. With only a double meaning (to the best of my knowledge) and no threat of confusion to be concerned about, LOL provides no effective argument against initialisms. However, the comparably common MS has a surprising 4 meanings (multiple sclerosis, Microsoft, Master of Science, and manuscript) which, in the absence of proper context, would almost certainly create confusion. Ever heard of CTA? There are 26 listed definitions online and, according to one puzzled business writer's account, did not include the one that she was expected to know in conversation with a colleague. This almost destroys any argument for keeping initialism use limited to those in your particular field.

Be that as it may, these examples were not the inspiration for this article. What did inspire me was the very dicey, very risky POS. If you are in business, you will immediately recognize this as point-of-sale. If you are an English student, you will see this as the abbreviation for part of speech. But if you have social media presence outside of your professional one, you may know this as the considerably more colourful piece of, well, you know. Even with minimum initialism use, problems with ambiguity can be a problem; ignorance causing offence, however, is a clear concern.

To ask, even rhetorically, why we use initialisms is absurd because the answer is obvious: we're lazy and they're catchy. Sure, we can sugar-coat it all we want and say that they are an excellent way to summarize arguments, make crucial points easier to understand, and condense lengthy presentations for inattentive audiences, but these are all cop-outs. They are mere excuses to avoid putting in the little effort it takes to create an effective and persuasive argument. For these reasons alone, professionals must consider abandoning them entirely. Anyone who is not in a profession that requires them should abandon them entirely. 

If you feel that your message necessitates their use, you have not considered your audience at all. And if your audience does not understand your message, does it have any real value?

So, write it out. Write it all out. Then hire yourself an editor.