RAS syndrome

RAS syndrome (Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome) is the common tendency to use one of the words which make up an acronym or initialism as well as the abbreviation itself, thus in effect repeating that word. "RAS syndrome" is itself an ironic self-referential example, coined in 2001 in the New Scientist. Usenet users coined PIN number syndrome and the ironic PNS syndrome; other nonce coinages continue to arise. The terms themselves are occasionally referred to as RAP phrases (Redundant Acronym Phrases phrases).

Technically, this redundancy is a form of tautology, and in many cases a pleonasm. Most criticism of it is lighthearted or pedantic, and most speakers find most instances unexceptionable.

Examples

Doubly redundant examples are also sometimes heard, such as "personal PIN number" or even "personal identification PIN number" and "CSS style sheets", and even more redundancy is possible. In one Dilbert comic strip, Dilbert states that the "TTP" project refers to "The TTP Project" (which is also an example of a recursive acronym).

The phenomenon also occurs with people whose initials form a nickname used in place of their forename, such as Jeb Bush: Jeb stands for John Ellis Bush; likewise the British politician Rab Butler, and professional skateboarder Bam Margera (Brandon Adam Margera). Another example of this is on the television show Arrested Development, in which the character whose full name is George Oscar Bluth II goes by GOB Bluth. A questionable one is the musician KT Tunstall, whose initials, KT, are both an abbreviation of her name and a play on words with her first name, Kate. This only applies where the initials form an acronym as opposed to an initialism; nobody would say JFK Kennedy.

List

Some of the most common examples include:

ABS system	Anti-lock Braking System system
AC current	Alternating Current current
AIDS syndrome	Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome syndrome
ARC computing	Advanced RISC Computing computing = Advanced Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computing computing
ALJ judge	Administrative Law Judge judge
ASB Bank	Auckland Savings Bank Bank
ASCII code	American Standard Code for Information Interchange code
ATI Technologies Inc.	Array Technologies Incorporated Technologies Incorporated (Note that while "ATI Technologies" is also redundant, "ATI technologies" is not. See below.)
ATM machine	Automatic Teller Machine machine
Bay Area BART	Bay Area Bay Area Rapid Transit
CAC card	Common Access Card card
CAPT test	Connecticut Academic Performance Test test
CD-ROM disc	Compact Disc - Read Only Memory disc
CMS system	Content Management System system
CRC check	Cyclic Redundancy Check check
CRT tube	Cathode-Ray Tube tube
DC current	Direct Current current
DLT tape (or DLTtape)	Digital Linear Tape tape
DSL line	Digital Subscriber Line line
DSW shoe warehouse	Designer Shoe Warehouse shoe warehouse
DVD disc	Digital Versatile (or Video) Disc disc
EMP pulse	Electromagnetic Pulse pulse
GUI interface	Graphical User Interface interface
HDRI image	High Dynamic Range Image Image
HIV virus	Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus
IBAN Number	International Bank Account Number number
ICBM missile	Intercontinental Ballistic Missile missile
IDM Music	Intelligent Dance Music music
IGBT transistor	Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor transistor
ING Group	Internationale Nederlanden Groep Group (with Groep being Dutch for Group)
IM message	Instant Message message
IP protocol	Internet Protocol protocol
IRC chat	Internet Relay Chat chat
ISBN number	International Standard Book Number number
IT technologies	Information Technology technologies
ITBS test	Iowa Test of Basic Skills test
LCD display	Liquid Crystal Display display
LED diode	Light Emitting Diode diode
MIDI interface	Musical Instrument Digital Interface interface
MNB Bank	Malvern National Bank Bank
MRE meal	Meal Ready to Eat meal
MSDS sheet	Material Safety Data Sheet sheet
Microsoft MS-DOS operating system	Microsoft Microsoft Disk Operating System operating system
Nabisco Biscuit Company	National biscuit company Biscuit Company
NAFTA Agreement	North American Free Trade Agreement Agreement
NIC card	Network Interface Card card.
NH Hoteles	Nuevos Hoteles Hoteles.
NTFS file system	New Technology File System file system
PAT tester	Portable Appliance Tester tester (unless someone is testing a Portable Appliance Tester)
PDF format	Portable Document Format format (PDF file is acceptable)
PIN number	Personal Identification Number number
PNG graphics	Portable Network Graphics graphics
PPC Cement	Pretoria Portland Cement Cement
RAD development	Rapid Application Development development
RAID array	Redundant Array of Independent Disks array (This is particularly ironic, given that the R in RAID stands for "redundant". The even-more-ironic phrase "redundant RAID array" is not unheard of.)
RAID disks	Redundant Array of Independent Disks disks
RDC car	Rail Diesel Car car
RIT team	Rapid Intervention Team team
(MMO)RPG game	(Massively Multiplayer Online) Role-Playing Game game
RPM package manager	Red Hat Package Manager package manager
SAT Reasoning Test	Scholastic Aptitude Test Reasoning Test. There are many such standardized test examples.
SAM missile	Surface-to-Air Missile missile
SCUBA gear	Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus gear (since apparatus and gear are synonyms)
SCSI interface	Small Computer System Interface interface
STEP paper	Sixth Term Examination Paper paper
SPIN ID (on Wheel of Fortune)	Special Prize Identification Number IDentification
TCBY yogurt	The Country's Best Yogurt yogurt
SDI defense initiative	Strategic Defense Initiative defense initiative
TSB bank	Trustee Savings Bank bank
The New TNN	The New The National Network
The TTLB Ecosystem	The The Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem
VIN number	Vehicle Identification Number number
VIP person	Very Important Person person
UPC code	Universal Product Code code
UCD Dublin	University College Dublin Dublin
Windows WDM Driver Model	Windows Windows Driver Model Driver Model
Windows NT Technology	Windows New Technology technology
NCT test	National Car Test test

Not redundant

Examples appearing here may appear to be redundant but are actually not, for the given reasons:

ABM missile	Anti-Ballistic Missile missile is disputed, as it falls in line with military terms such as anti-missile missile, a missile used to destroy other missiles.
ASCII code	American Standard Code for Information Interchange code. Although this can be redundant, in common usage the latter "code" refers to a specific value representing a symbol, while the former "Code" refers to the entire body of such value-to-symbol relationships.
ATI technologies	Array Technologies Incorporated technologies is not redundant, as ATI is the service that provides technologies.
CRC code	Cyclic Redundancy Check code. The second C stands for "check", not "code".
DNS server	Domain Name System server is not redundant. The S stands for "system", not "server".
JPEG graphics	Joint Photographic Experts Group graphics.
LASER light	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation light
MAC Address	Media Access Control Address
MOT test	Ministry of Transport test is not redundant, although the test is often referred to simply as an MOT.
PCR replication	Polymerase chain reaction is not redundant. The R stands for "reaction", not "replication".
PDF file	Portable Document Format file (PDF format is redundant)
RDF format	Resource Description Framework format
SMS message	Short Message Service message is not a redundant acronym, as SMS is a service, while message is something you get out of the service.
SWAT team	Although this acronym used to stand for Special Weapons Assault Team, which is redundant, it now refers to Special Weapons and Tactics.

Reasons for use

The most obvious reason for using an acronym in this way is that it has become (or been mistaken for) a word in its own right; the speaker may not know the original expansion, or may know it as the etymology but consider it irrelevant to modern usage. One acronym which has become a word is laser, which originally stood for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, but has become so much a part of common vocabulary that a verb form, "to lase", meaning to emit or make use of a laser beam, is in use as a product of back-formation.

All these cases conform to a specific pattern. The repeated word is the general class to which the object belongs (generally the main noun of the phrase). A "PIN number" is a type of number, an "ATM machine" a type of machine, a "RAID array" a type of array, etc. The rule for usage is both consistent and predictable. For this reason, some, including many prescriptivists, find objection to the usage to be a mere shibboleth.

One reason to deliberately use some examples is that they have become so common that not to use them would be more confusing. The sentence "I can't remember my PIN" when spoken does not distinguish between a pin and the acronym PIN (and some dialects of English even have identical pronunciations for "pin" and "pen"). People are simply more used to hearing "pin number" and, though redundant, it is widely accepted.

Some occurrences are in the interest of clarity; for example, when discussing a mainframe computer's requirements, the acronym "AC" might refer to air conditioning or alternating current depending on the context; the redundant phrase "AC current" can be used to distinguish them. Also, the phrase "AC current" distinguishes from "AC voltage" (which, incidentally, is itself an acronym of dubious meaning: "alternating current voltage"). The phrase "CSS style sheets" can also reduce confusion, where in certain contexts CSS could also refer to the content-scrambling system used on DVD Video titles. In addition, in many technical contexts, it is highly desirable to be as specific as possible, even at the cost of some off-putting redundancy. Combining the acronym with a noun identifying its class achieves clarity with economy of space and time. However, many people believe that if clarity is sufficiently important to justify the redundancy, the full phrase, rather than the acronym, should be used.

A final justification is that many acronyms and initialisms are trademarks, and trademark law generally treats trademarks as adjectives, which should be used with a generic noun. Examples of correct usage include "SPAM luncheon meat" and "CNN network".

Honorable Mention

Along the same lines, "please RSVP", which can be seen to be redundant once it is realised that RSVP comes from the French phrase répondez s'il vous plaît, which translates as "please respond".

The common mistake of refering to the world's largest desert as "the Sahara Desert" is redundant, since "Sahara" itself means "desert" ("the Desert Desert").

The expression "Thank God It's Friday", commonly abbreviated to "T.G.I.F.", is sometimes rendered instead as "T.G.I.F. Friday". Similarly, the popular restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday's is incorrectly referred to as "T.G.I.F. Friday's" on occasion.

The 1970s saw Strategic Arms Limitations Talk between the US and the USSR, aimed at producing a series of Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties, also referred to, respectively, as the SALT talks and the SALT treaties.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in a suburb of Los Angeles, California was renamed in 2005 from the Anaheim Angels to The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This translates to the full name of The The Angels Angels of Anaheim. In addition, references to "MLB Baseball" itself, as well as "NBA Basketball" and "NFL Football", exist.

DC Comics is also an example, as the "DC" originally stood for Detective Comics.

An office supply company called WB Mason is not really a RAS, but comes close to it because their trucks and many of their products are labeled "Who But W. B. Mason".

The Connecticut River, while not an acronym, can also be considered redundant, as the word "Connecticut" roughly means "long tidal river."

See also

• TLA ("three letter abbreviation or acronym")
• List of acronyms and initialisms
• Recursive acronym
• Redundancy
• Pleonasm
• Tautology
• List of redundant expressions
• List of tautological place names
• English usage