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[help] Language question
Cleaning up some open items here before I return to my vegetative state.
What is the term for words which are neither acronyms nor portmanteau words, but something in between? For example, “Canlit” to refer to “Canadian literature” or “NORAD” for North American Defense Command.” My Google fu is weak on this one.
Posted: 9:14 am Mon December 29 2008 |
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Jaws
December 29th, 2008 at 11:34 amUmm, NORAD is an acronymic construction (North American Air Defense), designed to be pronounceable for convenient use over field telephones. Well, not NORAD itself, but that’s one apparent genesis of these terms… WWI trench warfare provides yet more benefits!
Steve Buchheit
December 30th, 2008 at 7:05 amNORAD is a product of Alphabet Soup (which helped create many of the government agencies acronyms). And Jaws is correct, is was picked for ease of use saying over the phone or staticy radio channels.
Canlit is contraction made manifest by our modern proclivity to not use words over two syllables.