The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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@Linguist_CIOL OCTOBER/NOVEMBER The Linguist 25 FEATURES Unsurprisingly, abbreviations are adopted most quickly and prevalently on social media. More companies are now using social media as their advertising and information-sharing platform both for business to business (B2B) interactions and among their own employees and subcontractors. Furthermore, social media use often dictates emerging trends in vocabulary, with abbreviations such as 'TMB' ('Tweet me back') and 'PV' ('page views') becoming common there first. Avoiding misunderstandings Given the rise of these shortcuts, it is important to consider the pitfalls. An abbreviation will not speed up the message transfer process if the sender and receiver speak different abbreviation languages. In such cases, contractions can create confusion and prevent information being transferred and understood correctly. 'HP', for instance, can mean both 'high performance' and 'high potential', so the sentence 'Ian has shown HP' could lead to a misunderstanding. Is Ian already performing highly or not yet? Abbreviations of this kind can test translators, shortcuts are a help of abbreviations communication. Information must be exchanged quickly and efficiently, and finding shortcuts is a simple way of getting things done fast. This affects the linguistic behaviour of employees, leading to an increase in office jargon – the creation of a language within a language. Such shortcuts make us more efficient during meetings, workshops and training events when making and sharing notes. They help with making appointments and staying in regular contact with colleagues. They are also used to show that the writer understands the latest trends in communication and has their finger on the pulse. who won't be able to decode the abbreviated phrase without further information. Misunderstandings can cost businesses money and opportunities. In an ideal world, abbreviations and acronyms that are widely used in the business vocabulary of an organisation would be communicated to all employees, including third parties (such as vendors and subcontracting bodies). This would help to prevent miscommunications, especially in multicultural, global organisations, where frequent interaction between coworkers from multiple countries is required. Grasping the meaning of abbreviations is often challenging for non-native speakers, as understanding them may require knowledge of the culture and historical background, as well as recurring trends in the language. A 'danger' to grammar In terms of the richness of language, there is also a concern that if abbreviations and acronyms become ubiquitous, fully written words and sentences will slowly disappear. Some commentators fear this will also happen in oral communication, as acronyms and abbreviations such as OMG, FYI and lol are already used widely in spoken English. Speakers of German and Polish have similar concerns about the impact of shorthand vocabulary on the language. There is a lot of ongoing research devoted to the topic, mainly in Germany. Professor Peter Schlobinski from Leibniz University, who has spent his career investigating the language of the media, 1 believes that languages will suffer from the influence of new media and argues that spelling and grammar are in danger. 2 On the other hand, language is – and always has been – continuously changing. It is quite natural that in a fast-moving global economy people will develop their own short forms of expression, and that the language will bend to our needs. Notes 1 www.mediensprache.net/de/websprache 2 Schlobinski, P (2012) Sprache und Kommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter: Rede anlässlich der Verleihung des Konrad-Duden- Preises der Stadt Mannheim am 14 März. Duden, Mannheim © SHUTTERSTOCK