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MUSCOVITE Posted 12 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

shall I pronounce this abbreviation letter by letter?

Hi,

iSAS stands for "intelligent substation automation system".

I haven't been able to find (anywhere in the Internet) any suggestions as to how to pronounce "isas".

I guess it should be "eye" - "es" - "ay" - "es" (not "eye" -"sas")?

If you could help me with this?

mus-te
  

Top answer

It could be either. I'd try "eye" -"sas".

— Clive

  • It could be either.
  • I'd try "eye" -"sas".
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11 Answers
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It could be either. I'd try "eye" -"sas".
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General heuristic: the less syllables, the better.
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Another possible pronunciation is "izz-ess." If in doubt, stick with "eye-ess-ay-ess" until you get confirmation of the typical pronunciation.
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raindoctorGeneral heuristic: the less syllables, the better.
Good rule! I'll keep it in mind!
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AnonymousAnother possible pronunciation is "izz-ess." If in doubt, stick with "eye-ess-ay-ess" until you get confirmation of the typical pronunciation.
I see. Thank you!
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CliveIt could be either. I'd try "eye" -"sas".
Thank you, Clive! Emotion: yes
There is one point that i
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Why it is possible to pronounce "iSAS" as "eye"-"sas" but the same "pronunciation pattern" does not work with the popular email abbriviation "asap" (which is ALWAYS pronounced letter by letter, afaik)?

I don't agree.
I say, and almost always hear, "ay"-"sap".

Clive
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Online dictionaries are the only source of information for me to learn how a specific word is pronounced...

Below are listed a few online (respectful!) dictionaries that have an entry for "asap":
  1. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ASAP?q=asap
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I think the reason people like ay-sap is that it is quicker to say just 2 syllables.

Clive
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Thank you, Clive!
(You probably think I am just beating a dead horse ... :-)
In fact, I am trying to figure out whether there is a general tendency to transition from (relatively long) letter-by-letter abbreviations to (easier pronounced) acronyms?

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