Abbreviations ...

[zebulon]

English is native language for a lot of people here ; A lot of you have not a problem to speak this language . Sorry  but as a lot of my compatriots, I still have problem to understand everything said here; I have to confess I some times go to read the post in Google-Chrome to have a translation...
BUT; they are a lot of abbreviations used here (and elsewhere) I can't understand (and perhaps I 'm not alone ....)
So it will be useful for me and perhaps some other to have translations on this post/

Exemple: I know ASAP = As Soon As Possible.

Thx in advance

[numptyspence]

you should hear me speak French i would be arrested and deported !! 

English is a great language because it has such wonderfully native words you just don't get in French.

amateur, avant-garde, au revoir, blasé, bon voyage and my favourite bon appétit.

 

What abbreviations are you having a problem with?

abbrev. = Abbreviation
PC = Personal computer / Police constable
NSA = Snooping spies

=

[meine dicke]

IAW zebulon and IRW his post IMHO I agree.

Rainer

[Skye]

Often avoid abbrevations due to the mean alot what circumstances you talk about. Therefor I try to give a full explanation what I intend to say so you all can understand my intensions in a sentence that is fully understandable.

Often I'm not understood anyway.. call it a language barrier.

[zebulon]

Thank you Magnus, but sure you are not alone, and sometime it is impossible for me to understand .... 

[meine dicke]

Zebulon,

what i wanna say in my posting before, I have the same problems as you have. Me as well I am not a native speaker. Just learned English at school (and for you french  ) and had no experience speaking it for a long time after leaving school.

And if you compare what you have learned at school (school-english) and then go to the UK you will see that there are worlds between. But its worse if you try to understand someone of the USA or CAN.

That is my experience I did in the last 4 years within an international community. You could understand the non-native-speakers better than the native-speakers (sorry).

Greetings from the South of Germay ...
Rainer

[zebulon]

Thank you Rainer, I have some gap on your previous post  . 

[JosepM]

Here too.

With time, I've learnt most of the abbreviations, but I still have problems with slang and/or words of familiar use for natives.

I have problems with abbreviations in French  For instance, I don't know what "pas de bol" refers to 

Greetings,

Josep

[zebulon]

Considering it can help a lot of people, I don't make the answer by PM (personnal message  ) but here for every body. Please remove if it is off topic.

Pas de bol = pas de chance = no chance / no luck
 

[Two Plugs]

I think it is the other way around, Gilles... The majority here at this community are NOT native English speakers!
And I do understand your point, which I consider as very much valid! Thank you for addressing it here.

Just to make it easy understandable for everyone... lets just make a polite gesture of NOT using abbreviations any more (text message language also known as SMS) but just take the effort of writing a word or a saying full out.

[zebulon]

Thank you Bernard . If abbreviation or special expression are explained, i am not against, I will improve my English, and every way is benefic . Thank you all. 

[meine dicke]

Bernard,

thank you. This is a wise decision.

Greetings from the South of Germany ...
Rainer

[Jasper]

......But its worse if you try to understand someone of the USA or CAN.

First, let me say that I recognise (with s not z) the efforts by forum members to share their knowledge and stories in English.
Yes, you will make errors but there is usually no problem to understand. I frequently have to work in French so I know what it's like
At work, I spend a significant amount of time correcting the English of my Canadian colleagues

Second, to get back on topic, many of our engineering reports often begin with a two page list of abbreviations!
 
Finally, we have a department called POS     ...you can look this one up for yourselves

[zebulon]

IAW zebulon and IRW his post IMHO I agree.

Rainer

Bonjour Zebulon,

isn't it that "la gendarmerie nationale", with the blue coloured BDU, is part of your french forces?


Greetings from the South of Germany ...
Rainer

Sorry Rainer  it was the last ones  I have noted and don't understand. Please light my lantern (hope it is understandable  )

[jackyork]

Considering it can help a lot of people, I don't make the answer by PM (personnal message  ) but here for every body. Please remove if it is off topic.

Pas de bol = pas de chance = no chance / no luck
 

I thought it was a football thing....'Pass the ball!'

JK