Following up on the Telecom analogy then - SONET is one but ATM isn't... :) Ciao, Andrew -----Original Message----- From: Mark A Mandel [mailto:mam at TheWorld.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 2:20 PM To: Warlord Cc: dragaera at dragaera.info Subject: RE: Off topic - grammar question On Wed, 23 Jun 2004, Warlord wrote: #FWIW & IIRC, ATM = Asynchronous Transfer Mode, IMHO. LOL # #Sorry. :) # #It's intruiging, and not a little bit sad, that I have caught myself #speaking/typing a conversation almost exclusively in acronyms. Various #industries have their own language, but the computer field seems to #be especially full of it. And if we are going to be nitpicky, these aren't acronyms, but initialisms. Strictly speaking, an acronym is a word formed from from the beginning parts, especially the initials, of the words of a phrase AND PRONOUNCED AS A WORD. So "NATO" is an acronym but "UN", "FBI", and "CIA" are initialisms. I have heard "ASAP" spoken both ways. -- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel [This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.] #Southerner: "Mornin'. What're y'all up to?" #Northerner: "In the civilized north, we do not end sentences in a #preposition." #Southerner: *thinks* "So, what're y'all up to, asshole?" In Latin you couldn't. In English you can. I agree with the Southerner here. ****************************************** The information contained in, or attached to, this e-mail, may contain confidential information and is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed and may be subject to legal privilege. If you have received this e-mail in error you should notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail, delete the message from your system and notify your system manager. Please do not copy it for any purpose, or disclose its contents to any other person. The views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. The recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage caused, directly or indirectly, by any virus transmitted in this email. ******************************************