List of Singapore abbreviations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This list of Singapore abbreviations sets out abbreviations that are commonly used in Singapore.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Abbreviations are of three basic kinds:

  • Clippings, in which a shortened form of a word occurs. Common clippings in Singapore are: air-con (from "air-conditioner"),[1] condo (from "condominium"),[2] sabo (from "sabotage"),[3] and cert (from "certificate").[4]
  • Acronyms, in which the initial letters are formed into a single word, such as scuba, which is derived from "self-contained underwater breathing aparatus". Creation of acronyms such as this is rare in Singapore English, though TIBS (/tɪbz/) ("Trans-Island Bus Service") and CISCO (/sɪskoʊ/) ("Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation") are found.[5]
  • Initialisms, in which the individual letters are spelled out. This is by far the most common category in Singapore, including PAP ("People's Action Party") and PIE ("Pan-Island Expressway"), which are pronounced as /pi: eɪ pi:/ and /pi: aɪ i:/ respectively and never as */pæp/ and */paɪ/. Some analysts regard initialisms such as these as one kind of acronym,[6] but others prefer to distinguish between the two categories.[7]

Initialisms are extremely common in Singapore, and many have become better known and more widely used than the full form of the words they represent. One example is the Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital, which is more commonly referred to as KK.

The most important category of Singapore initialisms are those for government departments and public institutions. Among the earliest examples are PUB ("Public Utility Board") and HDB ("Housing Development Board"). Abbreviations such as these were especially important in the past when most Singaporeans were not educated in English, and their use facilitated communication in the public services where the main administrative language is English. Government departments have therefore promoted the use of these initialisms, so they occur even in non-English publications. Although the younger generation of Singaporeans are now all educated in English, abbreviations remain a major characteristic of Singapore English.

There are efforts to maintain some consistency among the initialisms. Three letters are used for government institutions (PUB, HDB, CPF, MOH, CWO) and for expressways (AYE, PIE, KJE), while two-letters are used for polytechnics (SP, RP). To maintain this consistency, some abbreviations are not direct initials; for example CTE is used for "Central Expressway" instead of *CE, and NP is used for "Ngee Ann Polytechnic" instead of *NAP. When the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was established in 1991, the name was chosen instead of the alternative "Nanyang University of Technology" because the latter would have resulted in the unsuitable NUT. Anderson Secondary School is one such unfortunate example, where the name upon being shortened becomes ASS.

Recently, there have emerged a number of unconventional abbreviations, such as A*Star for Agency for Science, Technology and Research.) When SAFTI (Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute) was reorganised in 1995, it acquired the name SAFTI Military Institute, further abbreviated as SAFTI MI, which when fully expanded would form a rather awkward title Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute Military Institute.

[edit] Abbreviations

[edit] 0–9

[edit] A

[edit] B

[edit] C

[edit] D

  • DART - Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team
  • DBS - Development Bank of Singapore (now known as DBS Bank)
  • DJ - District Judge
  • DPP - Deputy Public Prosecutor (see also "APP" and "PP")
  • DR - Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court or the Subordinate Courts of Singapore
  • DSO - Defence Science Organisation
  • DSTA - Defence Science and Technology Agency (pronounced DES-tə)

[edit] E

[edit] F

[No entries yet]

[edit] G

[edit] H

[edit] I

[edit] J

[edit] K

[edit] L

[edit] M

[edit] N

A road sign outside the campus of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), from Singapore English (2007) by David Deterding.
A road sign outside the campus of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), from Singapore English (2007) by David Deterding.

[edit] O

[edit] P

[edit] Q

[No entries yet]

[edit] R

[edit] S

[edit] T

[edit] U

[edit] V

[edit] W

[No entries yet]

[edit] X

[No entries yet]

[edit] Y

[No entries yet]

[edit] Z

[No entries yet]

[edit] Abbreviations in the military

This is a list of abbreviations commonly used in the Singapore Armed Forces, including slang terms. They are often used in place of the expanded form of the words. Some abbreviations are similar to those used in other militaries.

[edit] People

[edit] Ranks

See also: Singapore Armed Forces ranks

These ranks are arranged in descending order of seniority

[edit] Officers
Army and Air Force Navy
  • LG - Lieutenant General
  • MG - Major General
  • BG - Brigadier General
  • VADM - Vice Admiral
  • RADM - Rear Admiral
  • COL - Colonel
  • LTC - Lieutenant Colonel
  • MAJ - Major
  • CPT - Captain
  • LTA - Lieutenant
  • 2LT - Second Lieutenant

[edit] Warrant officers
  • SWO - Senior Warrant Officer
  • MWO - Master Warrant Officer
  • 1WO - First Warrant Officer (formerly "WO1" or "WOI")
  • 2WO - Second Warrant Officer (formerly "WO2" or "WOII")

[edit] Specialists
  • MSG - Master Sergeant
  • SSG - Staff Sergeant
  • 1SG - First Sergeant
  • 2SG - Second Sergeant
  • 3SG - Third Sergeant
  • SGT - Sergeant (defunct – replaced by "1SG", "2SG" and "3SG")

[edit] Enlistees
  • CFC - Corporal First Class
  • CPL - Corporal
  • LCP - Lance Corporal
  • PFC - Private First Class
  • PTE - Private
  • REC - Recruit

[edit] Appointments and offices

  • 2IC - Second-in-Command (see "IC")
  • ASM - armskoteman
  • BC - Battery commander
  • BOS - Battalion Orderly Sergeant
  • BOS - Brigade Orderly Sergeant
  • BSM - Battery Sergeant Major
  • BSO - Battalion Signal Officer
  • CAO - Chief Armour Officer
  • CCO - Camp Commandant's Office
  • CDF - Chief of Defence Force
  • CDO - Company Duty Officer
  • CDS - Chief Defence Scientist
  • CMC - Chief of Medical Corps
  • CO - Commanding Officer
  • COA - Chief of Army
  • COS - Company Orderly Sergeant
  • CQMS - or "CQ" - Company Quartermaster Sergeant
  • CSM - Company Sergeant Major (unlike many other countries, sergeant majors are appointments, not ranks)
  • DDO - Divisional Duty Officer
  • DO - Duty Officer
  • DOS - Duty Orderly Sergeant
  • DSM - duty storeman
  • FDO - Field Duty Officer
  • FS - Fitness Specialist
  • IC - (person) in command or in charge (see also "2IC")
  • MO - Medical Officer
  • MSG - Master Sergeant
  • MWO - Master Warrant Officer
  • NO - Nursing Officer
  • NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer (defunct – replaced by "Specialist")
  • OC - Officer Commanding (Company Commander in other militaries)
  • PC - Platoon Commander
  • PS - Platoon Sergeant
  • PSO - Principal Staff Officer
  • PTI - Physical Training Instructor
  • QM - Quartermaster - usually a commissioned officer or a senior warrant officer
  • RQMS - Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant - usually a warrant officer in the SAF
  • RSM - Regimental Sergeant Major
  • SDO - School Duty Officer (use is limited to training schools)
  • WOSA - Warrant officers, specialists and airmen
  • WOSE - Warrant officers, specialists and enlistees
  • WOSPEC - Warrant officers and specialists

[edit] Units and organizations

  • BMTC - Basic Military Training Centre
  • CAD - Combined Arms Division
  • CDO - Singapore Commandos
  • DISCOM - Division Support Command
  • DSMB - Direct Support Maintenance Battalion
  • DS Med Bn - Direct Support Medical Battalion
  • DSSB - Direct Support Supply Battalion
  • DSTA - Defence Science Technology Agency
  • FCC - Fitness Conditioning Centre
  • FDS - Field Defence Squadron
  • GDS - Singapore Guards
  • JID - Joint Intelligence Directorate
  • JOPD - Joint Operations and Planning Directorate
  • MP - Military Police
  • MMI - Military Medicine Institute
  • NDU - Naval Diving Unit (Singapore)
  • OCS - Officer Cadet School
  • PDF - People's Defence Force
  • RSAF - Republic of Singapore Air Force
  • RSN - Republic of Singapore Navy
  • SA - Singapore Artillery
  • SAF - Singapore Armed Forces
  • SAFMPC - Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command
  • SAFRA - Singapore Armed Forces Reservists' Association (the term "reservist" has generally been replaced by "Operationally Ready NSmen")
  • SCC - SAF Counselling Centre
  • SCE - Singapore Combat Engineers
  • SI - Signal Institute
  • SIB - Singapore Infantry Brigade
  • SIB - Special Investigation Branch
  • SIR - Singapore Infantry Regiment
  • SISPEC - School of Infantry Specialist
  • SJAB - St. John Ambulance Brigade
  • SMI - School of Military Intelligence
  • SMM - School of Military Medicine (reorganised as SMTI in 2006)
  • SMTI - SAF Medical Training Institute
  • SOC - School of Commandos
  • SOF - Special Operations Force
  • SPT - School of Physical Training

[edit] Places

[edit] Weapons, vehicles and equipment

  • A-veh - a heavy vehicle, such as an armoured vehicle
  • APC - Armoured Personnel Carrier
  • AVLB - Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge
  • B-veh - non-"A-veh" vehicles, such as rovers and trucks
  • FAD - first aid dressing
  • FBO - full battle order (compare "SBO")
  • FFR - (with reference to a land rover) fitted for radio
  • FH - 2000 - Field Howitzer 2000
  • GPMG - General Purpose Machine Gun – refers in particular to the FN MAG used in the Singapore Armed Forces
  • HMG - Heavy machine gun
  • IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle
  • LAW - Light Anti-tank Weapon
  • LBV - Load Bearing Vest
  • LST - Landing Ship Tank
  • MOP - Medic Operational Pouch (previously Medical Orderly Pouch)
  • RCK - rifle cleaning kit
  • SAW - Section Assault Weapon (usually refers to the Ultimax 100)
  • SBO - Standard (formerly Skeletal) Battle Order (compare "FBO")
  • SSPH 1 - Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 Primus

[edit] Slang

  • FO - fall out; fuck off
  • LOBO - left out of battle order (refers to a soldier who has not been assigned a fixed vocation)
  • NATO - no action, talk only
  • GG - good game
  • SBC - simply boh chup – indifferent, not caring (from the abbreviation of the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation)
  • WALI - walk around, look important
  • ROC - relax one corner
  • SAF - serve and fuck off
  • SOC - siam one corner, that is, to hide somewhere in order to avoid meeting one's superiors, doing work, etc. (from the abbreviation of "Standard Obstacle Course")

[edit] Others

  • 11B - SAF 11B, the military identity card.
  • 1206 - SAF 1206, a form signed to acknowledge deductions made to a soldier's payroll for damaging or losing equipment, etc. (pronounced "twelve-O-six")
  • ACCT - Advanced Close Combat Training
  • AI - Armoured Infantry troopers
  • AOC - Advanced Obstacle Course
  • ATP - Advanced Trainfire Package
  • Attend B - medical status that allows soldier to perform only light duties
  • Attend C - medical status that exempts soldier from all duties
  • AWOL - Absent Without Official Leave
  • BAC - Battle Assault Course
  • BCCT - Basic Close Combat Training
  • BER - beyond economic repair
  • BIC - Battle Inoculation Course
  • BMT - Basic Military Training
  • BRO - Battalion Routine Order
  • BTP - Basic Trainfire Package
  • BUA - Built-up area (see also "FIBUA")
  • C3 - command, control and communication (pronounced "C-three" or "C-cube")
  • CBRE - Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group
  • CIS - Chartered Industries of Singapore
  • CMTL - Centralized Motor Transport Line
  • COC - Change of Command Parade
  • CP - command post
  • CRO - Company Routine Orders
  • CST - Combat Survival Training
  • DB - detention barracks
  • DIV - division
  • DOD - date of disruption
  • EVAC - evacuation
  • FFF - Fit For Firing certification
  • FFI - Free From Injury, a medical evaluation performed prior to training (the abbreviation is often erroneously believed to stand for "Fit for Instruction", or "Fit for Infantry")
  • FIBUA - fighting in built-up area (see also "BUA")
  • FO - Forward Observer, soldier who corrects artillery fire
  • FOFO - fighting on Fortified objectives
  • GLS - Ground Logistics Support
  • HCC - High Confidence Course
  • IA - Immediate Action, a pre-trained drill for responding to a certain situation
  • ICCT - Intermediate Close Combat Training
  • ICT - In Camp Training (also simply known as in-camp)
  • IFC - Individual Field Craft
  • IMT - Individual Marksmanship Trainer
  • IPPT - Individual Physical Proficiency Test
  • L/F - live firing
  • LOA - letter of authorization
  • OOT - Out of Training
  • ORD - Operationally Ready Date (formerly "ROD")
  • RO - Routine Orders
  • ROD - Run Out Date (now "ORD")
  • PES - Physical Employment Status
  • SOC - Standard Obstacle Course
  • SOL - stoppage of leave
  • TH - Technical Handling
  • UFF - unfit for firing

[edit] Abbreviations in transport

As in most other major cities, abbreviations are commonly used in transport-related matters. The most prominent are the three-letter abbreviations of the expressways in Singapore; all, except one, end with the letter "E":

With the introduction of the Electronic Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS) in 1998, LED signboards were installed along the expressways to display warning and other informational messages to road users. This led to the increased use of abbreviations, some of which are less common and not easily understood. The following are examples of abbreviations used in the EMAS:[8]

  • BEDOK NTH - Bedok North Road
  • BEDOK STH - Bedok South Road
  • CCK DR - Choa Chu Kang Drive
  • TOWN HALL - Jurong Town Hall Road
  • TP AVE 10 - Tampines Avenue 10
  • LT - left
  • RT - right
  • AFT - after
  • BEF - before
  • LN - lane
  • SH - shoulder

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Low, Ee Ling (2005). English in Singapore: An Introduction. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia), 69. ISBN 0071239758. 
  2. ^ Brown, Adam (2000). Singapore English in a Nutshell: An Alphabetical Description of its Features. Singapore: Federal Publications, 57–58. ISBN 981012435X (pbk.). 
  3. ^ Brown, Singapore English in a Nutshell, above, p. 187.
  4. ^ Deterding, David (2007). Singapore English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 77. ISBN 0748625445 (hbk.). ISBN 0748625453 (pbk.). 
  5. ^ Brown, Singapore English in a Nutshell, above, p. 112.
  6. ^ Low & Brown, English in Singapore, above, p. 70.
  7. ^ Deterding, Singapore English, above, p. 77.
  8. ^ “EMAS – Your guide to a safer ride”, The Highway (Automobile Association of Singapore), February 2001, <http://www.aas.com.sg/features/archive/otr02012.htm>. Retrieved on 2008-03-11 .

[edit] References

[edit] External links