Fluffbuff

Yesterday, on the BBC website, I read the article "Drowning in France's alphabet soup" on adjusting to the frequency of acronyms, abbreviations and initials in France.

If he thinks things are bad in France, Mr. Schofield should try the US. Moving to California took me some getting used to the local shorthand and hyper-acronymic culture. You'd expect some clarity at least on the road, for safety's sake, but no. How was I supposed to understand words like FWY, CYN, and xing? Maybe you could figure out that FWY stands for freeway if you knew the word in the first place, but those things are called highways or motorways everywhere else I've been. And CYN for Canyon? Who knew that the hillsides in Southern California were called canyons? I thought that word was reserved for the majestic canyons of the Arizona desert. And xing for crossing? Give me a break.

But it's not only California; it's a national obsession that encompasses abbreviations, acronyms and other forms of language shorthand. I am not talking about the specialized jargon of specific groups such as accountants, surfers or geneticists. I am a web designer/developer so in my business environment I discuss XHTML, CSS, AJAX, dpi, png, and to me PMS means Pantone Matching System, not Pre-Menstrual Syndrome.

I am talking everyday, pervasive examples of excessive language reduction that can get in the way of clarity. Now I know that DOB is date of birth, but I had to ask as I was trying to fill out a form at the emergency room, er… ER, while holding the tip of my left thumb in place after slicing it off with a knife. So maybe I am not so smart, but shouldn't things be clear where lack of clarity can cause or aggravate serious problems, as when you are driving or in a medical emergency?

It still bugs me sometimes, even though I am fully integrated now. I even migrated to American English spelling. After all, I am Italian and I should adjust to the local customs. Next time I move to a new country, though, I'll try to adjust ASAP to avoid snafus.