Learning French: understanding 'backwards' abbreviations 

Even the French find their own language so complicated and baroque that they shorten it whenever they can. 

Sometimes, however, the shortening process makes it even more impenetrable for a foreigner. 

I recently demonstrated how speakers saw off the last syllable or two of a word to save breath. At least with the remaining stem of the word, a foreigner has a fighting chance of guessing what is being said. 

Far worse is the national tendency to create abbreviations whenever possible – even if there is a simpler solution – and to use them without (as would be good manners) unpacking them at first mention. 

Abbreviations in any language serve the same purpose – they contain information that would otherwise be formed into an unwieldy mouthful; but they are only effective if they are intelligible to everyone concerned. 

If they are thrown about carelessly and promiscuously, they do not aid communication, they hinder it. 

Read more: Learning French: what is the difference between voir and voire?

French terms shortened

My payslips used to be veritable jungles of initials indicating all manner of deductions that I was not familiar with. And the average conversation usually involves a splattering of letters that everyone understands except me.

I admit that we all need to know some standard abbreviations. Several of these are the reverse of the English: ADN is DNA; IA is AI (artificial intelligence); OTAN is NATO; UE is the EU; and ONU is the United Nations Organisation. 

Listening to or watching the news you may hear terms like CRS (Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, often dubbed the riot police), SDF (sans domicile fixe: a homeless person) and PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain), an off-track betting company.

Elsewhere, the shortening does make sense. SNCF is much more snappy than Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français and also dispenses with the accents and cedilla.

The ugly Urssaf beats the Union de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d'Allocations Familiales any day. 

Ehpad, meanwhile, has almost become a euphemism standing as it does for Etablissement d'Hébergement pour Personnes Agées Dépendantes ie. a home for the elderly.

Read more: Learning French: when and why do we say fais gaffe?

Practical abbreviations

Other abbreviations have practical application in daily life. 

These include AB for agriculture biologique (organic farming, often seen on food packaging); AV for à vendre (for sale); HS for hors service (out of order, on a broken machine); CB for carte bancaire (direct debit card); H for heure (hour, when times are being given); RDC for rez-de-chaussée (the ground floor of a building); Samu (the first-responding ambulance service); PJ, which does not mean pyjamas but pièce jointe (an email attachment); and RIB – a document giving your bank details to set up a direct debit or receive a transfer. 

If you are looking for a job, make sure you know the difference between a CDI (contrat de travail à durée indéterminée: a full-time position with security) and CDD (contrat de travail à durée déterminée: a short-term contract with an end date).

Where I take issue with the overseers of French is the unnecessary or foolish use of abbreviations that only serve to alienate the foreigner.