RAS syndrome (where "RAS" stands for "redundant acronym syndrome", making the phrase "RAS syndrome"
homological
Homology may refer to:
Sciences
Biology
*Homology (biology), any characteristic of biological organisms that is derived from a common ancestor
*Sequence homology, biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences
*Homologous chromo ...
) is the redundant use of one or more of the words that make up an acronym (or other initialism) in conjunction with the abbreviated form. This means, in effect, repeating one or more words from the acronym. Three common examples are "PIN number" / "VIN number" (the "N" in PIN and VIN stands for "number") and "ATM machine" (the "M" in ATM stands for "machine"). The term ''RAS syndrome'' was coined in 2001 in a light-hearted column in ''New Scientist''.
Many style guides advise against usage of these redundant acronyms in formal contexts,
[ Garner, Bryan A. (2000) ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style.'' Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.] but they are widely used in colloquial speech.
Examples
Examples of RAS phrases include:
*
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
("Detective Comics Comics")
*
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
virus (human immunodeficiency virus virus)
*
LCD
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
display (liquid crystal display display)
*
UPC code (universal product code code)
Reasons for use
Although there are many instances in editing where removal of redundancy improves clarity,
the pure-logic ideal of ''zero'' redundancy is seldom maintained in human languages.
Bill Bryson
William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...
says,
"Not all repetition is bad. It can be used for effect ..., or for clarity, or in deference to
idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...
. '
SALT
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
talks' and '
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
virus' are technically redundant because the second word is already contained in the preceding abbreviation, but only the ultra-finicky would deplore them. Similarly, in 'Wipe that smile off your face' the last two words are tautological—there is no other place a smile could be—but the sentence would not stand without them."
A limited amount of redundancy can improve the effectiveness of communication, either for the whole readership or at least to offer help to those readers who need it. A phonetic example of that principle is the need for
spelling alphabet
A spelling alphabet ( also called by various other names) is a set of words used to represent the letters of an alphabet in oral communication, especially over a two-way radio or telephone. The words chosen to represent the letters sound sufficient ...
s in radiotelephony. Some instances of RAS syndrome can be viewed as syntactic examples of the principle. The redundancy may help the listener by providing context and decreasing the "
alphabet soup
Alphabet soup may refer to:
*A common dish made from alphabet pasta
*Alphabet soup (linguistics), a metaphor for an abundance of abbreviations or acronyms
* Alphabet Soup (ultimate frisbee), a mixed European ultimate frisbee team
*Alphabet Soup (ho ...
quotient" (the
cryptic
Cryptic may refer to:
In science:
* Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another
* Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation
* Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth
...
overabundance of abbreviations and acronyms) of the communication.
Acronyms and initialisms from foreign languages are often treated as unanalyzed
morphemes when they are not translated. For example, in French, "le protocole IP" (the
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
IP h ...
protocol) is often used, and in English "please
RSVP" (roughly "please respond please") is very common.
This occurs for the same linguistic reasons that cause many toponyms to be tautological. The tautology is not parsed by the mind in most instances of real-world use (in many cases because the foreign word's meaning is not known anyway; in others simply because the usage is idiomatic).
Non-examples
Sometimes the presence of repeated words does not create a redundant phrase. For example, "laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
(light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) light" is light produced by a light amplification process. Similarly, "OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
countries" are two or more member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, whereas "OPEC" by itself denotes the overall organization.
See also
* Autological word
An autological word (also called homological word) is a word that expresses a property that it also possesses (e.g., "word" is a word, "noun" is a noun, "English" is an English word, " pentasyllabic" has five syllables, and "writable" is writab ...
* Bilingual tautological expressions
* List of tautological place names
* Recursive acronym
* Tautology (rhetoric)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ras Syndrome
Acronyms
Linguistic morphology
Rhetoric
Semantics
Syntax
Word play
de:Akronym#Redundantes Akronym