Acronyms should be used as if you were writing or speaking the phrase for which it is substituted. Using your example, you would not say "a Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation". Laser has been redefined to substitute for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation device". That's the kind of trap you get into when using acronyms, especially the compound ones.jgedmond wrote: There's nothing magic about acronyms. The general rule is to use the article just as you would in any other situation considering the initial letter of the acronym as it is commonly spoken, therefore, a "LASER", but an "FFL".
So, it's best, when writing or speaking, to know you're only trying to save time and effort, and to use the acronym as you would the phrase itself. I suspect the Internet has made people try to take acronyms to another level, just as trying to establish changed spellings of such words as "though" ("tho"). Doesn't cut it for formal (read: "doesn't require interpretation") communication.
I am not keen on abbreviations and half the ones written on this forum I have no clue as to what people are talking about. Need a sticky giving defs of all abbrev's.
