Supporter Comment by Ellen Pham on March 28, 2010 at 2:02pm

If no one knows for sure, Rosa, I would ask the secretary of the International Phonetics Assoc.

Supporter Comment by Roselink on March 28, 2010 at 2:47pm

I will, rather, I am currently writing an email. Thanks.

Supporter Comment by Ellen Pham on March 28, 2010 at 3:33pm

Ok, now that you will be getting an offical response, I am going to put my guess out there.. I-P-A

Reading acronyms seems to be more of a feel than a science. There might be specific rules, but I'm not aware of them. Sometimes it's simply which way feels better in the mouth (for a native speaker, of course).

Though it seems to me that if an acronym gets beyond 4 letters, it's got to be pronounced as a word, or just use the phrase that the acronym stands for.

I'm not sure, thought!

Supporter Comment by ddeubel on March 28, 2010 at 11:43pm

Rosa,

I P A
Acronyms are almost always pronounced by letter. Just say the letter's name and you have it. But sometimes an acronym can be pronounced if it forms a word (usually means it must have some vowels). Like "SNAFU" - situation normal all f****** up. Or OPEC (pronounced O-peck) . so you just have to take each one as it comes and decide.

However abbreviations are different beasts and are almost always pronounced as half words but usually are only used in the written form. ie. unspoken.

Supporter Comment by Roselink on March 29, 2010 at 9:17am

Thanks to both of you. My guess was that it should be pronunced as separate letters. In Spanish we say IPA as an independent word, or as Alfabeto Fonético Internacional. Anyway, the email has already been sent so let's see what the Phonetic Authorities have to say about it: Isn't it exciting?
I'll let you know as soon as I get the reply, if any.

Best regards.

Add a Remark