HBD to RIP

Arjun Singh Rathore
Abbreviations have a long history. They were created to avoid spelling out whole words. This might be done to save time and space, given that many inscriptions were carved in stone, and also to provide secrecy. In both Greece and Rome the reduction of words to single letters was common. In Roman inscriptions, “Words were commonly abbreviated by using the initial letter or letters of words, and most inscriptions have at least one abbreviation”
Abbreviations were frequently used in English from its earliest days. From the manuscripts of Old English to English literature to spoken English of British to English full of slangs of Americans, abbreviations are continuously replacing the actual words used in literature.
An abbreviation, simply put, is a shortened form of a word. In the past what Telegraphic message on Telegram couldn’t do, the arrival of Short Messaging System on mobile phone did in a style especially on WhatsApp and Twitter. Now a days abbreviations in official communications on eMails and even in print media are so popularised that they are now treated as a part of English literature.
In writing, abbreviations are useful when you need to squeeze a lot of writing into a small space. You can also use them in place of long or cumbersome phrases to make your sentences easier to read. Abbreviations are shortened forms of words and phrases and are a common occurrence in research manuscripts as they can help make highly complex technical writing more concise and easier to read.
Some elderly people do blame the present generation for spoiling the English literature but abbreviations are not a new invention. There are four different types of abbreviations in English, Initialism, Acronym, Shortening and Contraction.
An Initialism is formed from the first letters of a group of words and we pronounce each letter individually, like FBI- Federal Bureau of Investigation, PLC- Public Limited Company, USA- United States of America.
An Acronym is formed from the first letters of a group of words and we pronounce the acronym as a word, like NASA- National Aeronautical and Space Administration, NATO- North American Treaty Organisation, PIN- Personal Identification Number (code for bank card), RAM- Random Access Memory.
A Shortening is an abbreviation in which the beginning or end of the word has been omitted. There are 2 types:
Type 1 shortenings (treated as real words) like ad- advertisement (to promote a product or service), app- application (software)
Type 2 shortenings (not treated as real words) like Feb.- February, Sat.- Saturday, etc.- et cetera (Latin for “and the rest”)
Contractions are abbreviations in which we omit letters from the middle of a word. We do not write a full stop at the end of a contraction. The first letter is a capital letter only if the full word starts with a capital letter.
Type 1 contractions (missing letters from 1 word) like Dr- Doctor, Govt- Government, Mr- Mister
Type 2 contractions (missing letters from more than 1 word) We use an apostrophe to represent the missing letters, like he’s- he is, they’d- they would, I’ve- I have.
One thing to remember about abbreviations is that certain ones are considered informal. If you are writing something very formal, it’s better to err on the side of spelling things out. The other thing to remember is that some readers may not know what an abbreviation means. If the abbreviation is obscure or unfamiliar, make sure to explain what it means the first time you use it.
Is it OK to use abbreviations?
Look closely at the heading above, and you may find your answer. Believe it or not, OK is an abbreviation too, and we use it on the site all the time. Meant as an abbreviation for “Oll Korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans. OK (spelling variations include okay, O.K., ok and Ok) is an English word, originating in American English, denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference. OK is frequently used as a loanword in other languages. It has been described as the most frequently spoken or written word on the planet.
A good rule for abbreviations is to put the reader first. Ask yourself: Will the abbreviation make the sentence easier to read, or will it confuse the reader (for example, if the abbreviation is too obscure)? If an abbreviation still sounds like a good idea, next consider the context. Abbreviations are perfectly OK in personal and casual writing-they’re often OK in formal writing too. But it sounds disturbing when we can’t greet our loved ones with Happy Birthday instead of HBD, and it becomes more inhuman when we can’t spare a couple of seconds to offer our condolences and pray for the departed soul by writing Rest-in-Peace instead of RIP. In some of very sensitive issues the use of abbreviations is a bad idea. No doubt the definition of an abbreviation is a shortened form of something. For instance the shortened version of abbreviation itself is abbr. Though not quite as tricky as acronyms, there are a number of problems with using an abbreviation over full words, particularly when you are working with the English language. English is an extremely complex language that is incredibly difficult on its own. When you add abbreviations to your global content you muddy the waters further because translators do not work from abbreviations. They need the full words to ensure they have the proper starting point.