Is there some hidden pronounciation rule I’m not aware of? And why do we say F.B.I and not FBI or U.S.B and not USB ?

I know it seems a really silly question seeing the actual situation with the ICE eveywhere on the news… But this really bothers me on why people yell ICE when it’s actually the I.C.E :/.

  • Scratch@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    Acronyms vs Initialisms

    No one is going to try pronounce Fbi, it’s awkward.

    There are terms that bridge the Acronym/Initialism divide. SQL-Sequel, URL-Earl and GUI-Gooey are some that come up fairly regularly in my line of work.

    The bottom line is; Language is used to communicate concepts. We are lazy and do it as efficiently as we can get away with. The rules have changed a LOT to get us where we are today. It would be blind hubris to think the change will stop just because we don’t like it.

      • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
        1·
        1 month ago

        SQL, back in 2015, officially transitioned from being pronounced Sequel to being pronounced EssQueueEll.

        I still call it Sequel.

        Then again, I say U R L, but also pronounce URI as Yuri. I also say L O L instead of Loll and I R L instead of Earl.

        And then there’s mixed acronyms like Jaypeg and Empeg.