Acronym – sigle
Let's Define It!
What's an *acronym*?
First of all, an acronym [un sigle] is an abbreviation. (i.e. shortened or contracted version of a word). But not all abbreviations are acronyms.
For example, words such as un DVD [DVD], un CD [CD] are abbreviations known as initialism, in which each letter forming the word DVD gets pronounced /d-v-d/. OK, so what's an acronym then?
Well, based on the definition for 'initialism' given above, an acronym is therefore an abbreviation pronounced as a single word -- (no individual letter uttered separately).
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Let's Pronounce It!
What does it sound like in French?
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Let's Have an Example or Two!
Can a little reinforcement do the trick?
Some well-known examples of French sigles [acronyms] include among many others:
- l'OTAN [NATO], Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord [North Atlantic Treaty Organization]
- l'ONU [UNO], Organisation des Nations Unies [the UN].
- l'UNICEF [UNICEF] -- Although it carries its original wording into French (despite the fact that a French version does exist for it,) it gets to be pronounced as a one-word acronym.
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