Friday, September 3, 2010

Acronym Use and Abuse - Part 1

We live in a different world.  My 49 year old eyes have seen many changes.
Some exceptionally good ... some not so hot.

I am on the fence when it comes to certain forms of language use.
Especially when it come to acronyms or pseudo-acronyms.
Are acronyms for general ease in writing
or should it be seen as a decline of  literacy?

For instance ... Remember when you were a kid ... I am speaking to those of us who are at present NOT in the single digit age range ... and you would enjoy the occasional visit to Kentucky Fried Chicken with your family?  A little too much 'fried' for my tastes now, but then IT WAS GOOD.  Now we frequent KFC.

Dairy Queen was the place to go for those cool treats in the summertime.  Not any more.  The name has been simplified to DQ to entice us simpler folks.

Here in Canada we have a department store that has been on the go since 1670 when it started up as a trading company.  You might remember them for their famous characteristic heavy blankets with bold and colourful stripes. 

The Hudson's Bay Company now has shortened its name two ways.  Not sure if that is meant to confuse and dazzle, or just because they realize the masses tend to remember shorter names with less bothersome lettering.




Tomorrow I will share with you more of the dumbing-up of our English language.
Not an expose, but simply a few observances that I have made.





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