In the 21st century we use abbreviations to save
time
[i] symbols that represent an entire word e.g. £, $, %,
&, @
[ii] letters missing from the middle or ends of words
usually indicated by a full stop: etc. approx. dept. Mr. Mrs.
[iii] common in text messaging are entire phrases where only
the initial letters are used or a single letter or number is the sound of an
entire word: asap, brb, lol, c u 2moro
[iv] while [i] – [iii] above are more or less ‘universal’ in
that most people would understand them, abbreviation can occur with words
generally not abbreviated but are comprehensible to the target readersip.
Grammatical abbreviations such as imperf(ect), adj(ective) and prep(osition)
– full forms often listed at the beginning of the book – are used in language
teaching texts worldwide on the assumption that the reader will understand them
in context. Similarly, Mathematics is packed with symbols that refer to
specific functions i.e. the symbols represent words.
The thinking that underpins our use of abbreviations is not
dissimilar to that of the 11th century Domesday book. Not only did it
save time, but also – in terms of paper and ink – it saved money.
Mediaeval scribes used a staggering range of abbreviations
with a variety of functions e.g. to indicate that an ending had been omitted,
or there were letters missing from the middle of the word., and certain symbols
could have specific meanings: we still use one i.e. & (ampersand) to
indicate ‘and’.
Some points to note:
[i] Usage varied across Europe
[ii] The scribe’s handwriting may not match what is listed
as exemplars of specific forms of abbreviation in printed reference works and
in standardised type settings.
[iii] Writers are not always consistent in terms of how
abbreviations are used, nor do they always adhere to the “rules” i.e. a
manuscript has a “style”. Once you identify a specific word and / or method of
abbreviation, you’ll see that the writer tends to repeat it with, at times,
some variation, but the same word remains identifiable.
[iv] The posts here only focus on the context of the example,
but it does contain many common abbreviated forms.
[v] If you’re reading a manuscript, try to find as high a
resolution as possible because you very often need to magnify the text to
get up close and personal with the scribe, examine his handwriting and
look for patterns in both the way he forms his letters and the style /
types of abbreviations he uses.
[vi] Ideally, you should work with the original and both a
reliable transcript and translation so that you can “reverse engineer” it to
identify exactly what’s going on and become familiar with words commonly
abbreviated.
Image #1: manuscript
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