CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents the theories that underlie the data analysis of this
research. As the basis of this study, the writer uses theories that are included in
Review of Related Theory. Furthermore, the writer also discusses some related
studies.
A. Review of Related Theory
The theories employed in this study are theory of acronym taken from
Ingo Plag (2002), Paula Lopez Rua(2004) and Quirck (1985).
1. Acronyms by Ingo Plag (2002)
In his book, Plag mainly concerned with word formation in
English. He introduces word, explain linguistics & morphology for
example complex words, productivity and the mental lexicon, affixation,
derivational without affixation and etc. In derivational without affixation
he explains about word formation processes that do not involve affixes as
their primary or only means of deriving words from other words or
morpheme including truncation, blending, abbreviation& acronyms. The
explanations are written below:
a. Truncation: truncated names, -y diminutives and clipping
Truncation is a process in which the relationship between a derived
word and its base is expressed by the lack of phonetic material in the
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derived word. For example, Ron from Aaron, Liz from Elizabeth,
condo from condominium, disco from discotheque and etc.
The part of the name into the truncation is often variable. There
three categorization in form the truncation name: first there are forms
where the material to fill the template is taken from the very first
syllable (and sometimes some subsequent segments), as in Al from
Alonzo, Barb from Barbara, Bart from Bartholomew. Second, there is
a group of forms where a primarily stressed syllable provides the
material for the truncation (e.g. Dolph from Adolphus, Mel from
Amelia, Belle from Arabella), and third, there is a group of words
where a secondarily stressed syllable survives truncation (Gail from
Abigail, Bert from Albert ).
In –y diminutive the first syllable is stressed and the second
syllable consist of a single consonant and the suffix (-y and –ie). For
example: Bertie from Albert, Barbie from Barbara, alrightie from
alright, beastie from beast, Andy from Andrew, Annie from Anna,
auntie from aunt, ciggie from ciggarette, Aussy from Australian,
comfy from comfortable and etc. And the sub-class of truncation is
clipping, in other publication clipping is often used as an equivalent to
truncation. Most clipping are mono-syllabic and disyllabic and usually
based on the first part of the based word. For example ad from
advertisement, condo from condominium, demo from demonstration,
disco from discotheque, fax from telefax, lab from laboratory, phone
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from telephone, photo from photography, porn from pornography and
prof from professor).
b. Blending
Blend is a word that combines two (rarely three or more) words
into one, deleting material from one or both of the source words.
Blends can be categorize in to two different classes: Type 1 (the first
element modifies the second element), for example: breathe +
analyzer = breathalyzer, motor + camp = mocamp, motor +hotel=
motel, science + fiction = sci-fi and etc. Type 2(the first part of the
first element is combined with the second part of the second element,
for example: boat + hotel = boatel, breakfast +lunch = brunch, guess
+estimate = guesstimate, modulator + demodulator = modem and etc.
c.
Abbreviation & Acronyms
In his book Plag describes the abbreviation and acronym into one
section. Abbreviation are commonly formed by taking initial letters of
multi-word sequences to make up a new word, like as in BA(Bachelor
of Arts), DC(District of Columbia), EC (European Community),
FAQ(frequently asked question). Apart from words composed of
initial letters, one can also find abbreviations that incorporate non initial letters: BSc (Bachelor of Science), Inc. (Incorporated), Norf.
(Norfolk), Ont. (Ontario), kHz (kilohertz).
An abbreviation which is consisting of the first letter of each word
in the name of something, pronounced as a word for example
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NATO[neI.tou] is called as an Acronyms and pronounced as
individual letter called as initialism for example USA[ju.Es.eI]. The
spelling and pronunciation of abbreviation seems trivial, but
neverthles offers interesting perspective on the formal properties of
these words. With regard to their spelling and pronunciation Plag table
the abbreviation in the following differences:
Table 2.1 The spelling and pronunciation of abbreviation
Acronym
Abbreviation
1
2
Central
IntelligenceAgency
Federal Bureau
ofInvestigation
CIA
FBI
VAT
CARE
NATO
START
radar
vat
Spelling
Pronunciation
3
In Capital
4
as individual letter
In Capital
as individual letter
Value Added Tax
In Capital
Cooperative for Assistance In Capital
and Relief Everywhere
North Atlantic
In Capital
Treaty Organization
as individual letter
as a regular word
Strategic
ArmsReductionTalks
radio detecting and
ranging
Value added tax
In Capital
as a regular word
as a regular word
In lowercase
as a regular word
letter
In lowercase as a regular word
letter
On table 2.1 there is more than possibility the abbreviation
pronounced, it can be grouped according to two orthography and
phonological properties. They can be either spelled in capital or in lower
case letter, and they can be pronounced by naming each individual letter as
Initialism. To give more clear explanation his book, Plag systematize this
observation on the following table.
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Table 2.2.Spelling and pronunciation of abbreviation
Spelling
1
In capital
In capital
In lower case letter
In lower case letter
Pronunciation
2
as initialism
as acronyms
as initialism
as acronyms
Example
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CIA
NATO
e.g.
radar
The spelling of acronyms above may differ with regard to the use of
capital letter. Usually capital letters are used, which can be interpreted as
formal devices that clearly link the acronym to its base word. Some words
that historically originated as acronyms are nowadays no longer spelt with
capital letters, and for the majority of speakers these form like as in ‘radar’
(radio detecting and ranging).
2. Acronyms by Rua (2004)
According to Rua, in her linguistics journal she classifies clipping,
blends and initialism in a level of the feature of complex shortening. She
adopted Quirk et al’ label and definition of alphabetism; the term acronym
corresponds to their proper acronyms and the term abbreviation is
restricted to their graphic device. She suggests the substitution of their
super-ordinate term acronyms for that of initialisms. The term shortening
she took from Algeo to comprise Quirk, clippings, blends and acronyms,
and also as a super-ordinate term for the process that results in simple and
compound abbreviations (i.e. abbreviations of one word vs. several words
or higher units).
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She believes that shortening as a super-ordinate word-formation
device, typically consisting in the reduction of old bases (one or more).
Shortening can be simple or complex. Simple shortening is exclusively
graphic, and it covers simple and compound abbreviations. Complex
shortenings (clippings, blends and initialisms) are both graphic and phonic
reductions, although in different degrees. They are all conceived as
overlapping
categories
with
fuzzy
boundaries.
Together
with
abbreviations, they are defined by a set of formal parameters: source form
– number and type –, pronunciation (expanded or unexpanded), spelling
(capitals or lower case), degree of shortening of the source(s), degree of
phonic integration of the final constituents, and mode of expression
(speech or writing).
The parameter ‘degree of shortening’ helps to locate items composed of
initials plus larger parts still within the scope of acronyms is explained below:
Table 2.3. Parameters and prototypical values of simple and complex shortenings
Parameteres
Acronyms
laser
Alphabetisms Abbreviations Clippings
BBC
Dr., at. wt.* lab motel
Typical Values
First
PRON
PRON
PRON
PRON
PRON
(unexpanded: (unexpanded: (expanded:(unexpanded(unexpanded:
orthoepic)
letter names) source form) orthoepic) orthoepic)
Second
SHORT
(maximal:
1 or 2 initials
per word)
SHORT
(maximal:
1 initial per
word)
EXP
(writing)
SHORT
(medium)
Blends
motel
SHORT
(medium)
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Third
PHON
(medium)
SPE
(capitals)
SHORT
(variable)
SU
(1word)
PHON
(high
to medium)
Fourth
SU
(1 phrase)
SU
(1 phrase)
SPE
SPE
SU
(lower case or (lowercase) (2words)
combination)
Fifth
SPE
(lower case)
PHON
(low)
SU
EXP
SPE
(1 word or (speech, but also (lower
1 phrase)
writing)
case)
Sixth
EXP
(speech and
writing)
EXP
(speech and
and writing)
PHON
(N.A.**)
PHON
EXP
(N.A.**) (speechwriting)
* ‘atomic weight’
** The parameter does not apply
The defining parameters are the following: SU: source unit (number and
type); PRON: pronunciation of the resulting item; SPE: spelling; SHORT:
degree of shortening; PHON: degree of phonic integration; and EXP: mode of
expression.
Rua indicates that in hybrids or borderline cases a distinction should be
kept between actual hybrids, which combine features of different categories
(for instance alphabetic shape and acronymic pronunciation, as in SNCC ,
which is read out /snik/), and potential hybrids, which display the features of
different categories at the same time (basically pronunciation and spelling, for
instance UFO/Ufo, which can be read out as an acronym or as an
alphabetism), and whose eventual categorization depends on external
conditions such as extended use or style.
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3.
Acronyms by Quirck
According to Quirck (1985), acronym is the process whereby a
new word is formed from the initial letter of the constituent words of a
phrase or sentences. For example, from the initial letters of the words of
the phrase North Atlantic Threaty Organisataion, the word NATO is
formed. There are two main types of acronyms, namely:
a. Acronyms which are pronounced as a word: e.g: NASA (National
Aero-nautic and space Administration), radar (radio detecting and
ranging), laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation), and UNESCO (United Nation Education, Scientific and
Cultural Radiation).
b. Acronym which are pronounced as sequence of letter, e.g. COD(Cash
on Delivery),VIP (Very Important Person) and FBI (Federal Bereau of
Investigation)
From those two theories above Plag (2002, p.145-165), Rua (2004, vol.12 109129) and Quirck (1985) the writer finds that they have similarity. Acronym is
formed from the initial letters of a set other words, spelled in capital or lower case
letters and pronounced as a word or as an individual letter.
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B. Review of Related Study
In this research, there is related study from previous researcher from the
same field of study which is reviewed by the writer. This previous study was
conducted by Inarni (2009). Inarni did a research about acronym. She was
interested in find out how the acronyms are formed in the Business section articles
of the Jakarta Post. In her research, she used George Yule and Salvatore’s theory.
She used the descriptive method to reveal her object of the study. To know how
the acronym formed, she used the internet, Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia,
Oxford dictionary, EYD and some books that explore about the words formation
process, especially about acronym.
In her research, Inarni found three types of acronym. First, acronym that
form from the initial letter which can be pronounced (13 acronyms). Second,
acronym that formed from the initial letter and phrase (2 acronyms). The third,
acronym that formed from the phrase the writer found (5 acronyms).