Reasons For Use
There are several linguistic explanations for the prevalence of RAS syndrome:
- A limited amount of redundancy can improve (or seem to the speaker to improve) the effectiveness of communication. The pure-logic ideal of zero redundancy is seldom maintained in natural languages, because they have evolved some kinds of redundancy checks. A phonetic example of that principle is the need for spelling alphabets in radiotelephony. Some instances of RAS syndrome can be viewed as syntactic examples of the principle. The speaker wishes to gently reinforce the meaning of an acronym or initialism, especially in pedagogical contexts (whether formal or informal). In such cases, the redundancy may help the listener by providing context and decreasing the 'alphabet-soup' quality of the communication.
- Acronyms and initialisms from foreign languages are often treated as unanalyzed morphemes when they are not translated. For example, in French, "le protocole IP" (the Internet protocol protocol) is often used, while in English "please RSVP" (roughly "please respond please") provides an example of a redundant French initialism.
- The principle of not analyzing also applies within one language. For example, people who work regularly with the term AC (alternating current) experience some degree of treating the word both in sound (/ˌeɪˈsiː/) and in appearance as an unanalyzed lexeme. They do not forget what its expanded form is, but neither do their brains shift to the expanded form without a cue. Thus the redundancy in phrases such as "ATM machine" can be likened to that in the phrase "red in color". It is a degree of redundancy born of treating objects (in the abstract philosophical or computing senses of that word) as black boxes to be strung together, which is a natural aspect of human cognition.
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