Use of Abbreviations in Business Communications

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 account

Amer American

appar. Apparently

attn. (for the) attention (of)

B/E bill of exchange

B/L bill of lading

B/M bill of materials

Brit British

bus. business

CC carbon copy

cf. compare (Latin: confer)

CFR. cost and freight

CIF cost, insurance, freight

CIP carriage and insurance paid to

c/n credit note

c/o care of

COD cash on delivery

com. commerce

Corp. Corporation

CPT carriage paid to

CWO cash with order

D/A documents against acceptance

DDP delivery duty paid

DDU delivery duty unpaid

DES delivered ex ship

Dist district

DN debit note

D/P documents against payment

dt date

e.g. for example (Latin exempli gratia)

et al. and other people (Latin et alii)

etc. and so forth (Latin et cetra)

enc(s) enclosure(s)

EXW ex works

fax facsimile

FOB free on board

FOR free on rail

govt. government

i.e. in other words (Latin id est)

ibid. In the same book, chapter, page etc. (Latin ibidem)

Inc Incorporated(US)

L/C letter of credit

Ltd limited

nb. note

NOO not on original

P&P postage and packing

pdd probable date of delivery

p.p. on behalf of

PIN postal index number

PTO please turn over

RE with reference to, regarding

ref reference

RRP recommended retail price

SAE stamped addresses envelope

VAT Value Added Tax

yr year

ZIP (code) zone of improved delivery (US)