Short forms for the long haul

LAST month, a letter by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's press secretary was published in The New York Times, rebutting a Singaporean literary critic's earlier opinion piece in the same newspaper on Singlish.

It is obvious that Singapore's language debate has assumed international prominence, a point augmented by the Oxford English Dictionary's inclusion of 19 Singlish terms in its March 2016 update.

In contrast, the usage and proliferation of acronyms, whether "imported" or Singapore-centric ones, appears more intentional and involves less discourse. This looks set to continue, as notable acronyms within the lexicon of international business language have emerged with force in recent times. Let's take a look at some of these.