| Home |
| About Us |
| Latest News |
| Features |
| R-100 Index |
| Newsdesk |
| Free Email Alerts |
| - - - - - - - |
| Wireless Business Review |
| - - - - - - - |
| Friday’s Phrase: "RAID" |
|
|
| Friday, 23 July 2004 | |
|
23
July, 2004: While different strands of industry jargon may originate in
the marketing department or in the engineering workshop, some come from
the grassroots or even the underground. The growing use of email and
text messaging has given a shot in the arm to such shorthand and slang.
BTW, look here to find more about the latest: 'RAID'.
Among the justifications for many classes of 'newspeak' is that they save time by condensing complex formations of ideas or strings of information into a more compact package. These may enter life in written form before passing into the spoken language. This applies particularly in the case of acronyms, which in many cases become words in their own right (think about 'AWOL') of which few current users could explain the derivation. Arguably, the rise of electronic forms of messaging such as email and text have placed mastery of acronyms ahead of more traditional skills such as the ability to spell, or to write grammatically. Knowing the TLAs (sorry… 'three letter acronyms') is far more important than understanding the verbal mortar which holds together these bricks of information. Netheads may be dismayed to learn that this form of shorthand was invented long before the digital age. Some of the more celebrated acronyms date back to the earliest days of the postal service when, since the recipient (rather than the sender) had to pay the postage due, turning away a letter could save money (this was probably not called 'written party pays'). By putting the required acronym on the back of envelope, a message could be sent without the recipient having to pay. Since the most famous of these messages (admittedly, from a later era when the postage was paid by the sender) were 'SWALK' and 'BURMA' (younger readers, please ask your parents) it will also dismay the netheads to find that the Internet's predeliction for all things sexual was just as common in the days before 'www' walked the Earth. Just as in those days, most acronyms are codified. This can cause confusion when the recipient is unaware of the particular code in question. I knew someone who was convinced that the 'LOL' which he saw in emails meant 'let's organise lunch'. He invariably did and he invariably paid and he is now (invariably) overweight although surprisingly successful in business. The air of mystery surrounding acronyms – knowledge of the code – becomes a political tool in the hands of their users. Unless you openly confess your ignorance (thus surrendering one or more pieces of personal credibility) you end up, as it were, 'buying lunch'. There is a tactic for defusing such situations but your synapses have to be in snappy order. When an American industrialist once told me that the worries about his company's future had led him to "seek out VC", my response was "what? Viet Cong?". He was only making bridges and routers, for heaven's sake. RAID rage All of which preamble leads us to this Friday's Phrase. 'RAID' has only recently entered the lexicon and is increasingly found in emails. It stands, we are told, for "read and inwardly digest". All very well. But RAID does more than just act as shorthand because it also connects directly to an ordinary word, 'raid'. For this reason it is always written in capital letters. Yet it sill conveys the menace of its ordinary origins. Hence, it is easy to say "thank you for your report. I will now RAID it" and, within the code of acronyms, mask a malicious intent. Likewise, one is unlikely to say "here is my report. Please RAID it where it's of use." Something to ponder upon, as you RAID this. Jim Chalmers |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|