Click on names to find out more about the participants.
Relationship of interviewees: Work colleagues
Where: Reading, Berkshire
Language of interview: English
Voice clip 1
Stephen tells an anecdote about acronyms, in which a work colleague received scathing criticism in the press because a journalist had confused the acronym he'd used with one meaning something else entirely.
Voice clip 2
Lucy talks about the use of acronyms in emails to speed up writing emails and memos and how she's learning new ones all the time: BTW, EOM, HTH...
Voice clip 3
Allister talks about how there is a Microsoft language used by employees around the world. He says it can be a barrier at first but once you've learned it you're a member of the club - and that can be very helpful.
Voice clip 4
Allister talks about saying he "feels a bit queer" when he's feeling ill - and how he takes pleasure in the reaction of other people, because he knows it means something else now.
Voice clip 5
Angus says while working abroad he learned the local sports terms as well as the local languages, as that's crucial to being a successful salesman.
This clip contains language which some may find offensive.
Stephen Lamb, Technology, Microsoft
Stephen talks about the problems that arise when the same acronym is used to mean different things in different contexts.
Angus Lyon, Small business sector, Microsoft
Angus discusses the problem of dealing with the vast number of acronyms in use at Microsoft - it's a big culture shock for anyone new to the company.
Allister Frost, Marketing, Microsoft
Allister describes how acronyms tend to spring up all the time in the technology industry - and you have to learn to speak in that language to survive.
Lucy Millington, Corporate PR, Microsoft
Lucy talks about how sometimes an acronym can become a word, and what it originally stood for is lost.
Long description of interview: The four interviewees all work in different departments of Microsoft in Reading. They really get going on the subject of acronyms - of which there are hundreds in their workplace - and the difference between language in the North and South of England, as the group is made up of two Northerners and two Southerners. Stephen Lamb is the most vocal contributor to the discussion.
