Abbreviations

[Nanette Hooker]

Having read numerous posts I often come across abbreviations that take me some time to figure out. For example ITM = Irish Traditional Music (I assume). There are others, but I can't think of them at the moment. Perhaps the c.net forum needs a glossary for idiots like me who don't know what these abbreviations mean.

Edited October 5, 2004 by Poaceae

[Henk van Aalten]

Having read numerous posts I often come across abbreviations that take me some time to figure out. For example ITM = Irish Traditional Music (I assume). There are others, but I can't think of them at the moment. Perhaps the c.net forum needs a glossary for idiots like me who don't know what these abbreviations mean.

I fully agree with Nanette!

It is hard for an idiot, but when English is not your mother-language (as in my case) you have double trouble !

 

BTW: IMHO ITM can also mean "In The Meantime"

[JimLucas]

Perhaps the c.net forum needs a glossary for idiots like me who don't know what these abbreviations mean.

The world needs such a glossary.

Most abbreviations are context dependent. The two principle contexts here are concertinas and the internet, and when folks throw in acronyms (or even just references) from outside contexts, plenty of other folks will have no idea.

 

One that got me recently was OBS (for "Orange Blossom Special"), which maybe I should have thought of, since it was in the context of a bluegrass session, but I think it's more than a decade since I've actually heard it played. Another was the reference to TARDIS, which -- once explained -- I did realize I had heard before (Dr. Who has sometimes appeared on Danish cable TV; I never heard of it in America), though I didn't know it was an acronym, much less what it stood for.

 

One context-dependent acronym I always have to think twice about is LOL, which to internetters apparently means "Laughing Out Loud", but which I remember as a verbal expression from my youth meaning "Lots Of Luck" (i.e., you'll need it!). Another one is IRA, which in the US means "Independent Retirement Account", while in Ireland it means something quite different!

 

I think most of the acronyms you'll find here on Concertina.net are really internet-English compressions, e.g., BTW (By The Way), IMO (In My Opinion), and IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). There must be several glossaries of such acronyms spread about the internet, as well as glossaries of standard "smilies" (more properly known as "emoticons") for those who don't have software that makes pretty pictures of them.

 

I think there really are very few concertina-specific acronyms used here on Concertina.net, though one I think of immediately is TT, meaning "tenor-treble" (English system). Broadening to accordions, we get PA (Piano Accordion), DBA (Diatonic Button Accordion), and CBA (Chromatic Button Accordion).

 

ITM (yes, I think it means "Irish Traditional Music) is a musical term not specific to free reeds. ECD (English Country Dance) is another that pops up occasionally. C&W you almost certainly know means "Country & Western", as R&R means "Rock & Roll" (though in other contexts it can mean "Rest & Relaxation"), while the widely used R&D means "Research & Development".

 

And so it goes.

[Guest]

It is hard for an idiot, but when English is not your mother-language (as in my case) you have double trouble  !

 

You don't have to English as a second language to run into language problems. I find with my US email friends misunderstandings can be quite common, however we didn't expect to have so much trouble in a supermarket in Ireland when asking where various common household items were. After all, they do speak "English" English there right? (As opposed to Aussie English or American English etc)

 

What is obvious to one person is a mystery to the next, which is why when I'm unsure, I always ask

 

ECD (English Country Dancing) was a new one to me, because I haven't had much exposure to it. And I usually refer to my concertina as a "connie" not a "tina", so when I joined this forum that was a new one too. One of the reasons I love to hang out here (besides the friendly people who are more than generous with their time and knowledge) is the variety

 

For what it's worth in my experience ITM usually means Irish Traditional Music... but as someone here once eloquently put it "your mileage may vary"

 

Cheers

Morgana

[JimLucas]

...we didn't expect to have so much trouble in a supermarket in Ireland when asking where various common household items were. After all, they do speak "English" English there right? (As opposed to Aussie English or American English etc)

Not even close.

 

What is obvious to one person is a mystery to the next, which is why when I'm unsure, I always ask

The problem comes when you're not unsure and discover the hard way that you should have been.

 

... but as someone here once eloquently put it "your mileage may vary"

Indeed! E.g., in Sweden a mile ("mil") is 10 kilometers.

[geoffwright]

I saw a big sign that said A & E. I went in expecting it to be full of people playing anglos and englishs, but everyone seemed to be sat around waiting for smething to happen.

[JimLucas]

I saw a big sign that said A & E. I went in expecting it to be full of people playing anglos and englishs, but everyone seemed to be sat around waiting for smething to happen.

Lost me on that one. (A&W, on the other hand, is good root beer. "Root beer?", non-Americans may ask? Some things can't be explained; they can only be tasted.)

 

But some concertina-specific acronyms I missed are ICA (International Concertina Association) and NESI (NorthEast Squeeze In), hence SESI (South East SI) and SSI (Scandinavian SI).

[bellowbelle]

Here's a site that gives a list of the popular acronyms used for messages:

 

http://www.datingagain101.com/shorthand_im.html

 

(Um, I'm not 'dating,' but, I talk online with my daughter who's at college!)

 

Here in this forum, I think I've used BTW. (So many people talk to me in alphabet letters, I guess I'm just used to it, now... )

 

Of course, there is EC, which is 'English concertina.'

 

And, to the list, I've added MWD, which is 'Must Walk Dogs.'

 

IMHO, I do prefer the good ol' telephone with the voice mechanism, over typing all those annoying little text messages! It's convenient for students, though.

[JimLucas]

Here in this forum, I think I've used BTW.

Buttons Too Wide?

But That's Weird!

[John Wild]

But some concertina-specific acronyms I missed are ICA (International Concertina Association) and NESI (NorthEast Squeeze In), hence SESI (South East SI) and SSI (Scandinavian SI).

As a member of the ICA, I had some fun a while ago finding out some of the organisations I was not a member of. Among these were:

 

The Institute of Chartered Accountants (3 of them covering England/Wales, Scotland & Ireland)

The Institute of contemporary arts

The ice cream association

The international council on archives.

 

Regards,

 

John

[bellowbelle]

Here in this forum, I think I've used BTW.

Buttons Too Wide?

But That's Weird!

 

 

ROTFL!!

[JimLucas]

And how did I manage to overlook CW (Charles Wheatstone)?

[Clive Thorne]

Of course, there is EC, which is 'English concertina.'

Or, in english folk circles, it can mean 'English Ceilidh'

 

Clive.

[JimLucas]

Of course, there is EC, which is 'English concertina.'

Or, in english folk circles, it can mean 'English Ceilidh'

Don't forget the European Commission.

[d.elliott]

Here's one for you

 

CB2005!

 

see you there, January; Hawkwood.

 

Dave

[bill_mchale]

Aussie English and American English and Just plain English? You mean their isn't an Irish English? Or how about a Scottish English and for that matter a Yorkshire English as well?

 

So since I have family in Ireland and have learned most or all of the alternate terms and can use them correctly, does that mean I am bi-lingual?

[d.elliott]

Yorkshire English??????????????

 

We have a dialect, and it varies from area to area, village to village!

 

Anyway we declared UDI from England (another acronym from the 60's, any one remember?) after we lost (temporarily, and it was a fix) the battle of Bosworth Field in the 1400's. Thats why we have a Yorkshire Concertina Club (YCC) and the Yorkshire Concertina Club Band (YCCB)

 

All above acronyms are in current use.

 

Dave

[Peter Brook]

Don't forget the European Commission.

oh please can we....? we often do in England

 

IMHO a waste T&M (time and money)