Hi, I just wanted to find out how professsional electricians refer to the National Electrical Code. Do they spell it out or do they pronounce it "neck"?
--zeb
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17 years ago
NEC: is it "neck" or N-E-C?
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17 years ago
People don't say oosa, fibbee, or niba. They say USA, FBI and NBA. Same with the nec. ;)
R- Vote on answer
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17 years ago
OSHA
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17 years ago
snafu
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17 years ago
Unlike those, NEC does sound like a word. People often do say those as words.
I grew up at the time of the Apollo program. They had a lot of those initials that got pronounced as words, like Portable Life Support System and Lunar Excursion Module that were usually pronounced "pliss" and "limb".
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17 years ago
TLAs (Three letter acronyms) are usually spelled out. Longer acronyms are usually pronounced, if the result is pronouncable.
That's why it's
D.O.D. and E.P.A and "FEMA"
Generally with adjectives inserted.
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17 years ago
Yes, but they do say "oh-sha" for OSHA, "na-sa" for NASA, "pee-ta" for PETA, ergo the question.
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17 years ago
NAFTA!
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17 years ago
In my experience, most electricians pronounce NEC as "Code".
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17 years ago
Think 4 or more letters get sounded out like a word, 3 or less get spelled out.
Is there a rule for this?
later,
tom @
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17 years ago
Also, references to the FBI often just say fibs. If one can make a pronounceable word, even if it doesn't follow the initials, it will usually be pronounced that way by a large portion of the people. Way easier to say one or two syllables than three or four initials.
The question was valid.
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17 years ago
Budda bing!
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17 years ago
Good one. This reminds me: One day at Lowes I asked where the RMC was. After some explanation the guy realized what I wanted was "thick-wall" conduit. --Not that electricians are a bunch of dummies but there is NEC way of referring to things and everyone else's way.
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17 years ago
Ayup. In your instance I've generally heard the two types referred to as "rigid" and "EMT" (oh noes, another acronym!)
nate
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17 years ago
I hadn't the slightest idea what a TLA was. Then I looked it up at Wikipedia. Geez, must be a lot of lonely people out there.
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17 years ago
Nope. Some work as words and some don't
NAACP
Some would work as words, but still get spelled out
AARP
Individual Retirement Accounts is a three letter acronym, but it often gets pronounced as a word
IRA
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17 years ago
It's not an acronym unless it's pronounced as a word. If spelled out, or it doesn't make a word it's just an abbreviation.
Then you have the people who insist on being redundant. Some examples: vin number nic card pin number
this drives me up a wall when people say these.
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17 years ago
Interesting. I hadn't realized that if the letters didn't make a pronounceable word, it wasn't an acronym. If it's spelled out, though, it's not really an abbreviation, it's an initialism. I wouldn't have known the latter if you hadn't sent me to the dictionary on the former. Thanks, Steve.
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17 years ago
I keep remembering LEM. That's 3 printed letters, even if you think the word you hear has 4.
Probably not.
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17 years ago
No, don't think so. It's been discussed a few times on alt.english.usage , and probably also on alt.usage.english .
In Spanish, at least in Central America, they make a real effort to prononce everything they can. IGA was eega. IGGS was eegs.
But the US FBI was still the effe bay ee. It took me along time to figure out what he was saying.