When you pronounce the entire word and when do you pronounce the acronym or abbreviation?
The questions I am interested in are:
When reading a paper silently and an abbreviation (abbr.) is defined, does one continue to pronounce the entire word, or substitute the abbreviated form?
When reading a paper silently and an acronym (ACN) is defined, does one continue to pronounce the entire word, or substitute the acronym?
If, when reading a paper, one substitutes the acronym rather than repeating the full word every time it is read, do they risk learning the acronym but forgetting the full word?
When one is speaking to another does one pronounce the acronym (brevity) or the full word (clarity). Note: In SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk has banned the use of excessive acronyms in order to avoid confusion for newcomers and miscommunication within the team.
Now I understand this is a matter of opinion, but my thought is: given a consolidated consensus, patterns may emerge that guidelines can be drawn from in order to rationally approach future cases. I'll post my analysis after the study.
I appreciate any and all participation. Biologic context is inconsequential. Examples below are arbitrary. Please include the following in a reply (color coded for instructional clarity):
the full word of your choice (the acronym/abbreviation); your pronunciation
Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF); epidermal growth factor
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR); epidermal growth factor receptor
Cyclin-dependant kinase 1 (CDK1); cdk1
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC); non-small cell lung cancer
Prolactin (PRL); prolactin
human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2); her2
avian erythroblastosis oncogene B (ErbB); erb-B
mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK); map-k
protein kinase C (PKC); protein kinase C
protein kinase A (PKA); protein kinase A
phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K); phosphoinositide 3 kinase
phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2); phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate
phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate (PIP3); phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate
signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT); stat
Janus kinase (JAK); Jak
adenosine triphosphate (ATP); ATP
Interferon (IFN); interferon
electron transport chain (ETC); electron transport chain
(reduced) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH); NAD/NADH
(reduced) flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD/FADH2); FAD/FADH
The point is: are there general rules here, or is it all preference?
Christopher Melvin Kenyon
