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America's proclivity for acronyms

Fakhruddin Ahmed
THE following motley collection of acronyms could very easily have been a headline in an American newspaper: "The POTUS delivered his SOTU last Tuesday with the FLOTUS leading the cheers." Decoding the three acronyms commonly used by the media, the sentence would read: The President of the United States (POTUS), Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union (SOTU) address last Tuesday, with the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Michelle Obama, leading the cheers!
One manifestation of America's fast life is its impatience with long names and phrases, and its propensity to cut those down to smaller sizes with acronyms whenever possible. Less mass equals greater speed. Therefore, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been chopped down to FDR; John Fitzgerald Kennedy to JFK; and Lyndon Baines Johnson to LBJ.
Even more than politics, the field of sports is littered with acronyms. America's professional sport leagues are always referred to by their acronyms: NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball), NBA (National Basketball Association), and NHL (National Hockey League).
The most coveted season-ending accolade in any sport is the MVP (Most Valuable Player). In baseball, the batter with the most RBIs (Runs Batted In) is always a candidate for the MVP. A pitcher with a low ERA (Earned Run Average) and high number of Ws (Wins) is a candidate for the highest honour (Gy Young Award).
In football, the team scoring more TDs (Touchdowns) and FGs (Field Goals) is the winner. Likewise, in basketball, the team scoring more FGs (Field Goals) and FTs (Free throws) wins. A dominating centre who grabs many RPG (Rebounds Per Game) is an asset, whereas a sloppy guard who gives up TOs (Turnovers) is a liability.
Many American institutions and organisations are almost exclusively referred to by their acronyms: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), GOP (Grand Old Party or the Republican Party), NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People), NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association ), NRA (National Rifle Association), IRS (Internal Revenue Service), PAC (Public Affairs Committee), USDA (US Department of Agriculture), CDC (Center for Disease Control) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
American television networks are simply ABC (American Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), CNN (Cable News Network) and ESPN (Entertainment and Sport Programming Network). Talking of networks, these days one needs WWW (World Wide Web) to access the Internet. If the boss wants something in a hurry, he will write down ASAP (As Soon As Possible).
Most people are familiar with scientific acronyms like DNA, TNT and PPM (Parts Per Million). However, many are not aware that RADAR is also an acronym for "RAdio Detection And Ranging." There is a story that in the early 1960s, a precocious child bragged to her teacher that "Laser" was an acronym. The teacher replied, “I don't think so. Laser was invented by Mr. Laser!" "LASER" actually is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."
Not all acronyms are innocent. I never use the acronym "snafu" because when fully expanded, it is guilty of embedding a certain vulgar word in it.
The youth today speaks an altogether different language. Their text messages and tweets are loaded with acronyms: BTW (By The Way), IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), LOL (Laughing Out Loud), OMG (Oh My Cod), RIP (Rest In Peace), TLC (Tender Loving Care - also a Michael Jackson song), G2C (Got to Go), JK (Just Kidding), HAND (Have A Nice Day), LYLAS (Love You Like A Sister), PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tempting), ROTFL (Rolling On The Floor Laughing), B4N (Bye For Now), PIR (Parents In Room), TTYL (Talk To You Later), YOLO (You Only Live Once) and HAK (Hugs And Kisses).
I have a feeling that the English language is about to undergo a massive overhaul. And that the transformation will be triggered by the youths' hunger for acronyms.
P.S.: BTW, IMHO, Dr. Kamal Hossain should be included among the MIBs (Most Influential Bangladeshis).
The writer Is a Rhodes Scholar.