We often use acronyms In English, not just in text messaging, but also in e-mails, documents and almost every form of written communication. Here are a few of the more common ones.                                                     

 ASAP

So, the first one, ASAP – As Soon as Possible.

FYI

FYI – For Your Information

RSVP

RSVP – this is a French word, most native English speakers don’t know what this means in French, but we use it for… to reserve, make a reservation for a party, so, to respond. It means Répondez S’il Vous Plaît.

ETA

ETA means Estimated Time of Arrival

AKA

AKA means Also Known As

FAQ

FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions

ATM

ATM means Automated Teller Machine, but also At the Moment, which is more like Internet speech, or text.

TBA

TBA – To Be Announced

TGIF

TGIF – Thank God it’s Friday

RIP

RIP, what you see on graves at the cemetery is Rest in Peace

P.S.

PS, what you write at the end of letters, Post Script [English. In Latin: Post Scriptum]. You use it when you want to add an afterthought at the end of a letter.

ESL & EFL

ESL, like when you see it with English, English as a Second Language

EFL – English as a Foreign Language

DIY

DIY – Do it Yourself. Like a project that you might do it yourself, without professional help.

ID

ID. It means your Identification. This is what you present when you go to a bar, if you look like you’re underage.

IQ

IQ is your Intelligence Quotient, which is what a lot of intelligence tests will measure.

PC

PC – Personal Computer

PR

PR – Public Relations

SOS

SOS, what you might see if you’re stranded or stuck on a desert island, you might write in the sand SOS – Save Our Souls. This is to get help.

AWOL

AWOL means Absent Without Leave. Leave is to have permission to leave, to be on vacation. So, this comes from the military. You might say this when you have a friend or somebody that’s missing, so that person is AWOL.

MIA

Another way to say the same thing is MIA – Missing in Action.

AD & BC

So, now some historical terms.

So, AD, which means past the year 0, like, we’re in 2014 AD. AD means Anno Domini, which is a Latin word.\

CE & BCE

BC is Before Christ. But nowadays they’re using CE for the modern era, so, we’re in 2014 CE, which is AD, which is secular, not really attached to religion.

And then BCE is Before Common Existence, it’s the same as BC.

i.e.

So, sometimes when you’re writing, or you’re reading, you might see IE, which means in other words. So, in Latin, I’m not going to try to pronounce this, but here it is on the screen.

e.g.

And EG, which means for example, and here it is in Latin. So, you might use those in writing, and you might recognize this when you’re reading something.

DOB

So, DOB means Date of Birth. You might see this on an application.

MD

MD means Medical Doctor.

HR

HR means Human Resources, and DOA means Dead on Arrival. You might hear this in like a police show or something.

So, to finish, I’m going to give you 3 colloquial ones, which I think are pretty interesting, but they’re a little bit more relaxed than the other ones.

BYOB

So, the first one is BYOB. You might see this on an invitation to a party. This means Bring Your Own Beer. Bring Your Own Beer or Bring Your Own Booze, which is another word for alcohol.