# English question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 4, 2001, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224 "2001-07-04T17:32:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 19\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/21 "2001-07-04T22:25:00Z")

</div>

If it were an initialization, it would start something. 😉

The alt.usage.english FAQ calls this an “initialism” and my desktop dictionary agrees. However, I suspect that if you asked a random sample of writers, English majors, or English teachers, “What is an initialism?” you’d get nothing but blank stares.

So this opens up another passionate debate: is FAQ an acronym or an initialism?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/22 "2001-07-04T22:25:57Z")

</div>

barbitu8- clarify what you mean, because according to my reading of this definition:

> [@](#):
>
> acronym
> 
> \<jargon\> An identifier formed from some of the letters (often the initials) of a phrase and used as an abbreviation.

from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) seems to conform with “RPG” as being an acronym. And I couldn’t find a definition of “initialization” that corresponds to the concept you expressed. I’m confused…help.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2001, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/23 "2001-07-04T22:47:44Z")

</div>

Lemur866: No, RPG isn’t synonymous with role-playing game. That’s the problem. As someone pointed out, RPG is also the name of a programming language. I dare say that if we dug around some more we’d find some other meanings for RPG as well.

So why not use the full “role-playing game” instead of the ambigous “RPG?” The acroynm (uh, initialism) “RPG” doesn’t save any time in conversation, and it saves precious little space on the page. Further, “role-playing game” flows more easily off the tongue than the harsh “RPG.” Using “RPG” instead of the real words is just using an acronym for is own sake, something role-playing games suffer from deeply. (Just look at anything Gary Gygax has ever touched.)

Mind you, I’m talking about formal writing, not ordinary conversation or casual correspondence. Fans and experts will always make up their own incomprehensible private jargon, even if there are better words available.

However, someone who is writing for a broad audience should do their best to resist the siren call of jargon. For example, an economist or a labor leader would find nothing amusing or perplexing in the sentence, “The union demanded COLAs be part of any new contract.” The ordinary reader, however, would probably find the sentence, “The union demanded Cost of Living Adjustments be part of any new contract” far more enlightening.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2001, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/24 "2001-07-04T22:58:06Z")

</div>

Just for grins and giggles, some other meanings of “RPG”:

RPG Rocket-Propelled Grenade  
RPG Radar Product Generator  
RPG Rapid Isotope Power Generator  
RPG Rebounds Per Game (basketball statistic)  
RPG Reflection Phase Grating  
RPG REFORGER Planning Group  
RPG Remote Product Generator  
RPG Repeating Plasma Gun (Star Wars)  
RPG Report Program Generator  
RPG Research Planning Group/Guide  
RPG Resistance Protein Gene  
RPG Reuse Planning Group  
RPG Risk Purchasing Group  
RPG Rounds Per Gun (aircraft)  
RPG Running Power Generation (Mode)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ferggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Ferggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferggie)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/25 "2001-07-04T23:39:38Z")

</div>

My Bible says: “Use the article _an_ before vowel sounds: _an energy crisis, an honorable man_ (the _h_ is silent), _an NBA record_ (sounds like it begins with the letter _e_), _an 1890s celebration_.”

My Bible being the AP Stylebook.

And one would expect the definition of “RPG” to be clear by its context. Nobody’s going to be thinking “Rapid Isotope Power Generator” when they’re reading _Inquest_. (Though I concede they might be thinking “Repeating Plasma Gun.”)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/26 "2001-07-05T00:14:59Z")

</div>

Note that it’s vowel _sounds_, not spelling, and “y” doesn’t count as a vowel sound in this context. Hence it’s “an emotion” but “a euphemism.”

No wonder non-native speakers find English spelling so brutal.

Back on acronyms: I was just flipping through channels and lit upon the opening of INDEPENDENCE DAY. A general was talking about receiving a message from a “ess ee tee eye base.” It took some mental effort before I realized he was talking about SETI!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/27 "2001-07-05T01:11:17Z")

</div>

. . . As barbitu8 has alreday stated. An acronym is an abbreviation of a phrase formed from initials or parts of wards _which spells out a pronounceable word in itself_. Examples include radar and laser. RPG is _not_ an acronym.

I must admit I wasn’t familiar with the term _initialism_, but here’s the definition from [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com):

> [@](#):
>
> in·i·tial·ism (-n sh -l z m) n.
> 
> An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and _pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word_.

(Emphasis mine.) By this definition, RPG is an initialism, and usage would be “an RPG.” FAQ can be either, depending on pronunciation; as “fak” it’s an acronym, but as “eff-ay-queue” it’s an initialism. My experience has been that FAQ is “fak,” therefore “a FAQ.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/28 "2001-07-05T01:15:37Z")

</div>

" . . . parts of **wards**?" What the hell do hospitals have to do with it? Words, dammit, **words**.

And in case anyone is wondering, here’s the [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) definition of _acronym_:

> [@](#):
>
> A _word_ formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women’s Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging.

(Emphasis mine.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigStar303](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@BigStar303](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigStar303)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/29 "2001-07-05T04:27:36Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Wumpus \*  
> **pulykamell – Ah, but the proper way to read “a RPG” is “a Role-Playing Game.” After all, an acronym is just shorthand for the actual words!**

Of course, this is absolute nonsense, and I think you know it is. You’re entitled to your contrary views here, of course, but I would think you would garner a little more respect for them by avoiding tortured logic such as this.

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> (If the reader doesn’t know what the acronyms are shorthand for, well, you haven’t done your job as a writer. Any acronym should be defined first, unless you’re absolutely certain your audience knows the lingo.)
> 
> Of course, the real secret to good writing is to avoid acronyms when you can. They’re alienating. I can’t think of any reason to use “RPG” instead of “role-playing game” in formal writing, for example.\*\*

Uh, maybe to avoid repeating a rather lengthy phrase numerous times in the course of just a few sentences? Careful writers alternate or at least mix acronyms (or initialisms, if your prefer) and the words/phrases they stand for so as to avoid this.

> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> BigStar – “A historic” vs. “An historic”: As usual, the Canadians are conflicted about this. See
> 
> [http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/ananda.html](http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/ananda.html)
> 
> The article weakly reccommends “a historic” on the grounds that even the Brits now tend to pronounce their "h"s. Of course, this argument could disappear if pronunciation changes again, as it is wont to do.\*\*

There’s nothing weak about this recommendation. Like all rules regarding English usage, it reflects current usage, and is sensibly applied to current usage. What does what may or may not happen in the future have to do with anything?

Sure, perhaps one day we’ll suddently revert to writing “to-day,” as was done at the turn of the century. But unless and until we do, such a spelling would stick out like a sore thumb, as does “an historic” and most certainly “a RPG.” (I notice you didn’t acknowledge my comment that 99% of readers would stumble over “a&nbsp;RPG.” This is as compelling a reason as any why it should not be used.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/30 "2001-07-05T04:36:10Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BigStar303 \*  
> \*\*I am guided by what is still my favorite reference book on the English language, _The Harper Dictionary of English Usage_…  
> \*\*

The Harper Dictionary is American, no? 🙂

To add to the list of “an after H” words: heraldic. As in “An Heraldic Alphabet”, J.P. Brooke-Little.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/31 "2001-07-05T08:44:02Z")

</div>

English person chiming in on cue… apart from a few exceptions (listed by BigStar303), most words beginning with “h” are pronounced with a definite “h” sound, and most of us would say “a” rather than “an”.

Things like “an historic” and “an heraldic” are, I think, restricted to a certain subgroup of (largely upper-class) English speakers. Winston Churchill was one of them, so was Brooke-Little. But I think “a historic” and “a heraldic” would be more _common_ English usage.

(Yes, I’m hopelessly common, myself. I come from a long line of intermittently employed Liverpool dock workers. And I say “a heraldic”, myself.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/32 "2001-07-05T09:56:33Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \*  
> \*\*(Yes, I’m hopelessly common, myself. I come from a long line of intermittently employed Liverpool dock workers. And I say “a heraldic”, myself.) \*\*

You can’t be that common if you’re pronouncing your aitches, Steve 😃

Heraldry doesn’t feature much in my life, but I tend to say “an historic” whether I’m talking posh or common. In the posh version, historic would be very weakly aspirated, with the stress on the second syllable. That not to say that I don’t occaisionally use “a historic” though, but the stress would be on the first syllable. My accent varies a fair bit.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/33 "2001-07-05T10:52:29Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Sir Doris \*  
> You can’t be that common if you’re pronouncing your aitches, Steve 😃
> 
> \*\*

Thank 'ee, koind marster! (tugs forelock, wrings cap)

But isn’t the stress normally on the second syllable of “historic” (but on the first of “history”) whether you pronounce the “h” or not…?

(So i’m sitting here in an open-plan office muttering “historic… 'istoric… history… 'istory…” People are starting to give me funny looks.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/34 "2001-07-05T19:09:36Z")

</div>

I, almost without reservation, would say “an 'istoric” and would surely _write_ it that way. But I’m an American, and American from the midwest no less, without any of that New England crap creeping in (until late, of course, where I pronounced coffee exactly like a Bostonian would–good god, what’s happeneing to me!?!).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/35 "2001-07-06T02:30:58Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \*  
> \*\*And I say “a heraldic”, myself.) \*\*

I tend to find that the word “heraldic” doesn’t come up often in common conversation… well, unless you’re an SCA Herald, or a member of an Heraldic Society. 🙂

I use “an” for both Historic and Heraldic. I’m not sure what is most common in New Zealand (I’m a Kiwi, Kiwi parents… albeit that my mother went to what passed for a _posh_ school).

A quick check of the other nit-picking analysts and tech-writers I work with showed a preference for “an historic”… oddly enough they don’t seem to use “heraldic” much. 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andrew\_dupont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@andrew\_dupont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrew_dupont)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/36 "2001-07-06T02:41:47Z")

</div>

Hey, here’s a crappy fact that you’ll never use.

The whole H sound thing originated from Greek, but H wasn’t even a letter. Any word that begins with a vowel in ancient Greek has either a rough [kind of like a ( placed over the letter, but smaller] or smooth [the other one, )] breathing mark. The letter H was actually the capital eta (the long A sound in English).

What’s the point? The H originally was not a letter but more of an afterthought. So if it were the same way in English, not only would we say “an historic” but we would write it something like “an ^istoric.” (with some symbol at the beginning).

Now, having said all that, screw history. If it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t sound right. If you fully pronounce your H’s, use A. If you don’t, use AN.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/37 "2001-07-06T04:50:19Z")

</div>

Nobody is arguing that one should use barbaric acronyms and jargon. Eschew jargon! However, if one _does_ use an acronym/initialism, then one should write the article as one imagines it would be said if the article is read aloud. The only time one would write “a RPG” is if one is certain that every time the phrase is read, it is read “a role playing game”. And that is manifestly not the case…most people would read it as “a arr-pee-jee”, which is wrong.

But yes, I agree with the advise to avoid the term RPG, especially in speach, since it only saves _one syllable_!!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/38 "2001-09-05T15:50:44Z")

</div>

It’s not only the Brits who don’t always pronounce initial H’s. Many people from the Northeast US, especially from Boston, don’t. I had a former boss who would say “Houston” without the initial H sound - “yooston.”

Also, I believe that there is at least one word that us Merkins pronounce without the H, but Brits say it: “herb.” We say “an 'erb,”, the Brits say “a herb.”

Wumpus, it seems like you’re arguing not about “a” vs. “an,” but whether the initialism “RPG” should be used. You say it only saves one syllable in speech, and is ambiguous in writing. However, in writing, it would not be ambiguous if you’ve already defined it. And since it’s abbreviated in writing, it gets abbreviated in speech. Face it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224/39 "2001-09-05T17:57:03Z")

</div>

No, I really did start out talking about “a” vs. “an.” But we drifted off topic somehow, and this became the Thread That Will Not Die. Still, I maintain that many acronyms (er, intitialisms) are ugly, confusing, and best avoided.

TTFN. K?

An Wumpus

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-question/71224.md?page=1)