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Stef Walter

What does a PIN Number and a PDF Format have in common? They both suffer from RAS Syndrome, also known as Redundant Acronym Syndrome. It’s when an acronym is followed by a word that is also part of the acronym, and there’s quite a couple of them.

Full details and more examples on Sketchplanations: sketchplanations.com/ras-syndr

42 comments
Stef Walter

(fun fact: my grammar check actually tried to correct this post and tagged the PIN Number as "This phrase is redundant (‘N’ stands for ‘number’). Consider using “PIN”.")

Andy Polaine

@stephaniewalter haha. I was reading Mastodon in reverse, as you do, and was about to reply with exactly that Sketchplanations post.

Steve Root

@stephaniewalter ... but saying PI Number implies 3141 is the only valid input
... I'll get my coat

cuan_knaggs

@Sroot it could also be the number you call when you need some investigation done @stephaniewalter

jelte

@stephaniewalter Perhaps the people coming up with such acronyms are at fault here.

Fred Brooker

@jelte @stephaniewalter

who wants to say Personal Identification Number? 🤔

jelte

@fredbrooker @stephaniewalter nobody, but everyone does want to add either 'number' or (in my country) 'code', so it would probably have been better to choose a name and acronym that doesn't include either of those.

jelte

@fredbrooker @stephaniewalter In my language we say pincode (it's even in the dictionary), probably for the same reason a lot of people say pin number: acronyms tend to become words themselves, losing their direct connection to the original expanded words. Sometimes it then feels more natural to have a disambiguating signifier, in this case number of code, even if it is, strictly speaking, superfluous. I consider it a form of language evolution.

Stef Walter

@fredbrooker @jelte yeah, I think you have them in any language.
For example, "le virus du VIH" (HIV) --> "le virus du Virus de l'Immunodéficience Humaine" in French

DJ Adams

@stephaniewalter The word "SYNDROME" in

"RAS SYNDROME"

is just *chef's kiss*

Fred Brooker

@stephaniewalter

CD disk
SSD disk
LED diode
MIDI interface
AGI intelligence

Tim Hall

@stephaniewalter that's the problem with all these TLA acronyms 🤔

Fred Brooker

@stephaniewalter actually HIV virus and COVID disease are not good examples, as both HIV and COVID are also names, not just acronyms

lp0 on fire :unverified:

And/or preceded by. “Personal PIN number”.

… and “MLS football”, surely.

Kelvin n0mql EN35ld

@stephaniewalter
I’m also fond of this quirk, almost the inverse of your examples.

Ed Davies

@kelvin0mql And, of course, GNU standing for GNU's Not Unix.

@stephaniewalter

Stef Walter

@shino PDF format, Portable Document Format Format?

Shino

@stephaniewalter Holy shit i'm so sorry, My brain tricked me I read the second format as "file".

🙏

So take this " JWT Token"

Stef Walter

@shino I'll accept the token if it can be converted into chocolate or sushis ^^

More seriously: don't worry I too had to double check that F was Format and not File. So technically "PDF File" is not one of them, but "PDF Format" is ^^

Josh Austin

@stephaniewalter is there a version to define redundancy in two languages, such as “mojo dojo casa house”?

Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK

@stephaniewalter also in automotive terminology:

DSG-Getriebe (DE) / DSG-Gearbox (EN) - a type of dual clutch semi automatic gearbox found in VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT cars

DSG == Direktschaltgetriebe (DE) / Direct Shift Gearbox (EN)

so the word gearbox is repeated twice in common use in both languages

niche witch with a 🐝

@stephaniewalter Is Redundant RAS or RRAS Syndrome also a thing, the prefix variety, or is that just RAS Syndrome too?

Alan 🎲

@stephaniewalter it reminds me of the « RAID array » joke, where one points out the « array » is redundant, and the other replies it’s what the ‘R’ stands for

Robbie 🇧🇪 :tux:

@stephaniewalter the infamous "Microsoft windows 2000 built on NT technology"

Werenfried

@stephaniewalter and one can duplicate the syndrome by combining languages - my favourite was the ad for a “Rechner mit LCD Display Anzeige” (liquid crystal display display display)

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