| 词组 | abbreviations |
| 释义 | abbreviations Abbreviations have been receiving bad notices since the 18th century. Such writers as Addison and Swift satirized the fashionable practice of the time of using truncated or clipped forms of long words — such as pozz, phizz, plenipo, and hippo for positively, physiognomy, plenipotentiary, and hypochondria—in conversation. Ordinary contractions—can't, haven't, shan't, isn't, for instance—were likewise satirized. Campbell 1776 took notice of the practice, classing the clipped forms as barbarisms, but commenting that he thought the practice had fallen into general disgrace because of the attacks of the satirists and that it never showed itself in books. Perhaps Dr. Campbell was premature in announcing the abandonment of the practice of abbreviating, for usage books down to the present day wag their fingers at the practice. MacCracken & Sandison 1917, for instance, lists several truncations disapprovingly— among them auto, phone, photo, exam, and gym. Guth 1985 continues the critical tradition but changes the truncations: Avoid informal abbreviations. Avoid clipped forms like bike, prof, doc, fan mag, exec, econ. (Other shortened forms, like phone, ad, and exam are now commonly used in serious writing.) Aside from the social acceptability of clipped forms (Emily Post in 1927 disapproved phone and photo), there are other considerations to be taken into account. Handbooks in general recommend avoiding abbreviations in "formal" writing. Flesch 1964 disagrees, however: It's a superstition that abbreviations shouldn't be used in serious writing and that it's good style to spell everything out. Nonsense: use abbreviations whenever they are customary and won't attract the attention of the reader. Flesch's advice seems sound; but care should be taken to observe what in fact is customary. It is obvious that what is customary in technical writing will be different from what is customary in journalism or in scholarly articles. If you are uncertain, you should consult an appropriate style manual or handbook. General advice can be found in any of a number of composition handbooks and in general style manuals, such as Webster's Standard American Style Manual. See also etc.; i.e., e.g. |
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