Use of Abbreviations in Business Communications Abbreviations What is an abbreviation?

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that is used to save space in written documents. Although abbreviations are mostly used in technical writing, they can also be used in many business communications. Form: first and last letters of a word You may form abbreviations from first and last letters of a word e.g. Dr (doctor), Dy (deputy), Lt (Lieutenant) and St (Street). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce "Street" for "St"; Lieutenant for "Lt" and pronounce and "Mister for "Mr" Form: most important letters of a word You may also form abbreviations from most important letters of a word or phrase e.g. Ltd (Limited). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce " Limited" for "Ltd" Form: first few letters of a word You may also form abbreviations from first few letters of a word or phrase e.g. Ave. (Avenue), Encl. (Enclosure) and Feb. (February). You must pronounce the basic abbreviations like the full word it represents. So pronounce "Avenue for "Ave"; Enclosure for Encl. Please understand that an abbreviation does not normally have a distinctive pronunciation of its own. Abbreviations vs Contractions Acronyms are word formed from the initial syllable or letters of each word or phrase, e.g. radar (RAdio Detecting And Ranging) Many corporate bodies have lengthy names which are commonly abbreviated to a set of initials written in capital letters, usually with no full stops. Consider few familiar examples: BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research MP Member of Parliament

You must be able to distinguish between Abbreviations and contractions. A contraction does have its own distinctive pronunciation: for example, the contraction can't is pronounced differently from cannot, and the contraction she's is pronounced differently from she is or she has. Use of Full Stops or Periods The use of full stops or periods in these abbreviations is the matter of concern for Americans. American usage prefers (A) Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and St., with full stops or periods. British usage on the other hand favors omitting the full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr and St. American and British Usage

Consider the well known abbreviations: a.m. (`ante merediem') and p.m. (`post merediem'): 10.00 a.m., six p.m. Note the use of the full stops. This format is always acceptable. Please note that American usage prefers (A) 10.00 am and six pm, with lowercase letters and no full stops whereas the British usage prefers lowercase letters with full stops. Please consider another set of popular abbreviations b.c. (Before Christ) and a.d. (Anno Domini). The abbreviations are usually written in lowercase letters, for marking dates as before Christ or after the birth of Christ. It is formal to write b.c. or a.d. before the date, but nowadays it is often written after the date, e.g. 786 b.c. or 1026 a.d. You may be familiar with number of Latin abbreviations which are frequently used in business communications. Please note some of the popular abbreviations most commonly used in business communications with their meaning: a/c Amer appar. attn. B/E B/L B/M Brit bus. CC cf. CFR. CIF CIP c/n c/o COD com. Corp. CPT CWO D/A DDP DDU DES Dist DN D/P dt e.g. et al. etc. enc(s) EXW fax FOB FOR govt. i.e. account American Apparently (for the) attention (of) bill of exchange bill of lading bill of materials British business carbon copy compare (Latin: confer) cost and freight cost, insurance, freight carriage and insurance paid to credit note care of cash on delivery commerce Corporation carriage paid to cash with order documents against acceptance delivery duty paid delivery duty unpaid delivered ex ship district debit note documents against payment date for example (Latin exempli gratia) and other people (Latin et alii) and so forth (Latin et cetra) enclosure(s) ex works facsimile free on board free on rail government in other words (Latin id est)

ibid. Inc L/C Ltd nb. NOO P&P pdd p.p. PIN PTO RE ref RRP SAE VAT yr ZIP (code)

In the same book, chapter, page etc. (Latin ibidem) Incorporated(US) letter of credit limited note not on original postage and packing probable date of delivery on behalf of postal index number please turn over with reference to, regarding reference recommended retail price stamped addresses envelope Value Added Tax year zone of improved delivery (US)