Is it acceptable to omit the last period of an acronym?

Question

After reading this post, I was struck by the omission of the period (full stop) at the end of the acronym given.

A.V.C

I've never seen this before here in the States. Is it permissible here? In England? Elsewhere? Is it common anywhere?

FWIW, that is the convention (common at least, if not conventional) in French (in France, at least): periods between letters, and none after the last letter. — Drew, Mar 19 '16 at 04:51

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

If you are writing in a style which uses periods after each letter in an acronym, you can skip the last period in the acronym if the acronym is the last word in the sentence, in which case the sentence-final period, exclamation point, or question mark will replace it.

I have never heard of A.V.C.

I can't believe you work for I.B.M!

Is this the way all astronauts are treated by N.A.S.A?

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 12 '11 at 14:00

6

I have never seen such a usage. I think it was a misapprehension made by the OP of that particular question.

answered Apr 12 '11 at 14:00

Robusto

151,571

From the British side of the pond, word. :-) – Apr 12 '11 at 14:22
1

If anything, I think there is an increasing tendency to omit all periods in acronyms. I'm old enough to remember S.W.A.L.K. on the back of envelopes (the periods were invariably included). I bet if there were to be a modern equivalent, they'd invariably be omitted. – FumbleFingers Apr 12 '11 at 15:14
@FumbleFingers: It might also be that the dots (I'd not call them periods?) get dropped as an acronym ages and becomes more common. Your example seems to belie this; I agree that, apart from that process, the use of dots in capital acronyms has generally decreased over the past decades. The same applies to other languages such as Dutch. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Apr 12 '11 at 17:35

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 09 '17 at 18:04

1

I've pondered this issue myself, ever since seeing the usage in N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes).

It is the first usage that I am aware of and believe it has been the inspiration for further usage in the Black community. Sort of like a FUBU writing style.

More recent example:
K.R.I.T wuz here COVER ARTWORK

edited Mar 09 '17 at 18:04

Community

1

answered Oct 14 '14 at 00:10

musiclover

11

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 19 '16 at 04:15

0

Indeed, there should be a period after every letter in an acronym. For example, the Wikipedia page for T.G.I. Friday's lists a period after each letter. In conclusion, N.W.A. is the proper way to abbreviate "Niggaz Wit Attitude".

edited Mar 19 '16 at 04:15

JMP

3,614

answered Mar 19 '16 at 02:09

JRoc

1

Please don't start an answer by saying "I agree." Answers are listed in different orders for different users in different situations, so we can't tell what you're agreeing to. – Scott - Слава Україні Mar 19 '16 at 02:54

Is it acceptable to omit the last period of an acronym?

4 Answers4

Linked

Related