Excessive Abbreviations (page 1 of 4)

Hello everyone on this forum! I know in advance that what I'm about to say here won't please everyone, but honesty is a virtue, isn't it? Here's the thing: for many years now, I've noticed a habit in French-speaking posts of using abbreviations left and right, as if to show that we're "in the know." Let me explain with a few examples: - - In discussions about Peru, I see "Aguas" for "Aguas Calientes." And if it's Mexico, well, it'll be "Aguas" for "Aguascalientes"! - - For Guatemala, "travelers" will say "Guaté." Come on, saying "Guatemalas" would maybe be the undeniable sign that you know nothing about the country??? - - Back from Indonesia, many will talk about how familiar they've become with the country's language: "bahasa." Of course, everyone will know what you're talking about, but it still gets on my nerves because the language (one of the many languages) of Indonesia is "bahasa Indonesia." "Bahasa" actually means "language," and you'll find this word of Indian origin ‘Bhāṣā’ (it's Sanskrit originally) outside Indonesia too: in Thailand, for example, any language will be "phasa" as in "phasa thai" (official Thai), "phasa isan" (what's spoken in northeastern Thailand), "phasa angkrit" = English, etc. Am I an incorrigible nitpicker? Maybe. But I'd also find it ridiculous if a foreigner came and told me they visited "Monte" during their trip to France, when it was actually Monte Carlo. I read a lot in English and don't think I've encountered such a habit among English speakers.

hi Georges, at your age, you should know that nobody’s perfect in this world, and try to be a little more tolerant! These wonderful travel journals let you get informed, or travel when you’re stuck in bed, and learn something too! For example, if I type "Monte" into Google, I end up in all sorts of places… and I start with Corsica! https://www.corseweb.corsica/monte/ Come on, have a little drink—you’ll feel better! no hard feelings 🙂

For Guaté, it was the bus touts who set the tone, shouting from their step at every turn: "Guaté, Guaté!" to let passersby know the destination of their vintage school bus. 🙂

In Southern Africa, travelers talk about "self drive" for a road trip, which annoys some of the older folks among us—especially those who used to be teachers before retiring.

KTP is the hush-hush Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park—less chance of getting it wrong when writing it out! !😏

A jet-setter will head to St. Barth’ or St. Trop’, while a sports enthusiast will go to Val Tho or Cham’ in the winter.

Hearing "Cham’", an Auvergnat will think of Chamalières and laugh when hearing a Parisian mispronounce the names of some local villages.

I’d advise you to travel only to Å in Norway—it’s tough to abbreviate! 😄 But this village used to be called Å i Lofoten...

Hi there.... And when the taxi tout says As Cham Cham Cham, where’s he sending you? 😏

Michel

I give up! 😛

hi, what you're talking about is making apocopes. And personally, I don't really like that. ( nota bene: I almost wrote "perso" instead of "personally" 😎 )

awesome, I learned a word 😉

Hello,

In a way, I share your opinion on the use of truncated words or... what annoys me the most about English words in travel reports, especially in Southern or East Africa. In these reports, you can regularly read words like "Gate", "Tips", "Self drive", etc., and what makes me scream is "big five".

like a way to show you’re ‘in the know.’

Exactly! It seems to give a sense of superiority over the reader....

For "big five", the worst part is that often, these people can’t even name the famous five big animals!! To me, B.F. = stupid expression for dumb Americans. As if a safari were just about 5 animals...!!!

Poor French language, abandoned all over forums.

Best, Puma2A

...

All the excessive abbreviations

Isn’t your repetition a bit... over the top?

... I’m begging for mercy for the noobs 😕 !

I really dislike the Ugly Five.

For "big five" the worst is that very often, these people can't even name the famous five big ones... !! to me B.F. = stupid expression for dumb Americans

No doubt: calling them the very French "gros cinq" won’t make you sound "superior" either! 🤪

The 5 tons of the savanna.

It's more about the tall ones than the big ones. 😉

Neither tall nor necessarily big, actually—just the top 5 according to some.

The excessive abbreviations

Isn’t your redundancy also... excessive?

Hahaha! Good point! 😕 😉

Hello, what you're talking about is making apocopes. And personally, I don't like it too much. ( nota bene: I almost wrote "perso" instead of "personnellement" 😎 )

😏 But it's true, we're allowed a few abbreviations (with only one ‘b’ 😉 ) when (!) we write on social media!

Hello Georges, at your age, you should know that nobody’s perfect in this world, and try to be a little more tolerant! These wonderful travel journals let you get informed, or travel when you’re stuck in bed, and they’re also a way to learn! For example, if I type "Monte" into Google, I end up in all sorts of places… and I start with Corsica! https://www.corseweb.corsica/monte/ Come on, have a little drink—you’ll feel better! No hard feelings 🙂

Should I be more tolerant 🙂? Maybe. But first, I’m being honest with myself. It’s probably just a matter of tastes and colors: one person doesn’t like green much, another wants it everywhere! It’s like an allergy—if you’re allergic to pollen, are you going to be criticized for not being tolerant toward pollen???

Another one while I’m at it: “Kuala” for “Kuala Lumpur”… I lived there, and how many times did I hear that! And it always made me cringe.

Yet, I wouldn’t dream of saying Aix-en-Provence instead of just Aix. But I’d struggle with Aigues instead of Aigues-Mortes. I admit, I’m trying to find the logic here…

🙂🙂🙂 Is there still anything logical left in this universe? Where I'm from, we say "going up to Pas" instead of "going up to Pas de la Casa"... It’d be funny to say "going up at a trot"—no one would see the logic in that... 🙂🙂🙂

And when the taxi tout says "As Cham Cham Cham," where’s he sending you?

To Syria, of course! (Damascus), and in Ach Châm the tout will say: "Bayrût, Bayrût" 😏

Hello,

Brilliant reply, it anticipates what I was planning to add 😏

Michel

And when the taxi tout says As Cham Cham Cham, where does he send you?

To Syria, of course! (Damascus) and in Ach Châm the tout will say: Bayrût, Bayrût😏

- - In discussions about Peru, I see ‘Aguas’ for ‘Aguas Calientes.’ And if it’s Mexico, well, it’ll be ‘Aguas’ for ‘Aguascalientes’! - - For Guatemala, travelers will say ‘Guaté.’ Go ahead, say ‘Guatemalas,’ and that might just be the unmistakable sign you don’t know anything about the country in question??? - - Back from Indonesia, many will say how familiar they’ve become with the country’s language: ‘bahasa.’ Of course, everyone knows what you’re talking about, but it still gets on my nerves because the language (one of many) of Indonesia is ‘bahasa Indonesia.’ ‘Bahasa’ actually means ‘language,’ and you’ll find this word of Indian origin ‘Bhāṣā’ (it’s Sanskrit originally) elsewhere too: in Thailand, for example, any language will be ‘phasa’ as in ‘phasa thai’ (official Thai), ‘phasa isan’ (what’s spoken in northeastern Thailand), ‘phasa angkrit’ = English, etc. Am I an incorrigible nitpicker? Maybe. But I’d also find it ridiculous if a foreigner came and told me they’d visited ‘Monte’ during their trip to France, when they meant Monte Carlo. I read a lot in English and don’t think I’ve ever come across such a habit among English speakers.

Hello, It’s really quite curious... I’d never noticed before. Personally, in this specific case, I find it harmless because it doesn’t affect me "deep down"—there’s no echo, no IMPACT on my psyche. I think words aren’t innocent. Beyond their literal meaning, they sometimes reflect a broader situation or events happening in the world. For example, in recent years, the word "IMPACT" and its derivatives—"impacter" (to impact), "impactant" (impactful)—are used all the time in any situation. An economic crisis, but also simple reforms, impact the population. Greenhouse gases impact the climate. Rising fuel prices impact vacationers, etc... Couldn’t we replace this term with others that are less "violent"? Like affect, influence, act on, weigh on, exert an influence, or even: harm, disrupt, shake up, mark, compromise, upend, strike, etc... The word *impact* implies a violent shock. So why is it used in every situation? I sense a threat in it, but I hope I’m wrong... Maybe there’s an urgency somewhere?