Today I’m going to try to correct a problem that spans across nations and cultures. In fact, it is an issue that affects all of humanity. If we can all come together on this then I truly believe our world will be a better place. At least, mine will be…
The PIN Number Redundancy Enigma is one that plagues me and, I imagine, many of you as well. PIN literally stands for “Personal Identification Number”. The N means Number so why repeat it? Why turn 1 syllable into 3 for no apparent reason? If we can all acknowledge this then I believe our conversations can become far more efficient, saving time and energy.
Now please don’t think that I’m just hating on PIN Number. Oh no. There are an abundance of these redundancy enigmas and I aim to shed some light on them.
ATM Machine is one near the top of the list. “Automatic Teller Machine”. You’re not speaking with the human teller. You’re working with the machine teller, the automatic teller. It’s a machine, not a human. Its in the acronym already. Now we are being redundant and taking what could be 3 syllables and turning it into 5. I feel like this one should be even more obvious than The PIN Number Enigma. Just from life experience, I feel like I’ve met more people who know what ATM stands for than what PIN stands for. Use this knowledge people!
This is not just an issue within the English language. I’m sure, but I haven’t got the resources to back it, that other languages also suffer from this injustice.
OK, what’s next? We’ve got people saying VIN Number instead of just VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). I won’t go over the whole PIN Number paragraph again but we have the same issue here. I mean, these are like cousins. If you can remember not to add “Number” after one of them then you can remember both. I feel like PIN and VIN are the best ones to start with if we want to fix this problem. This is Step One in the evolving process to erase this terrible habit from society.
I’ve heard somebody say DVD Disc before (Digital Versatile Disc, or Digital Video Disc). OK, far out example because most people know better. The point is that it still happened! RAM Memory, I feel, is a bit more forgivable, but it still fits the bill (Random Access Memory). ESPN Network, another useless redundancy (Entertainment And Sports Programming Network). And yes, I have heard this said before too.
There are some that are borderline and I have no real issue with, under most circumstances. For example, PDF. PDF means “Portable Document Format”. When somebody asks “what format do you want that document sent in?”, I have no issue with the reply being “PDF Format”. Ugh, there’s always an exception. What’s that saying? I before E except after C? That’s just Weird Science. We can table this category for a later discussion.
What we don’t have are people saying NASA Administration. Its just NASA. Good start. I’ve never heard somebody say SCUBA Apparatus. I haven’t heard IRS Service used, probably because they aren’t always thought of as doing a “service”.
My point is, we need to come together on this. It’s infected so many language management centers in so many brains already. This could be one of the most overlooked crises we have ever faced. For the future of communication, understanding, perhaps even the future of our children’s children, and certainly for the sake of my own sanity, let’s all acknowledge and address The PIN Number Redundancy Enigma.