Hi All. My critique group has been going around and around about this question. What if, in dialog, a character says A-sap, meaning A.S.A.P but saying the letters phonetically. How is that written?
A.S.A.P vx. A-sap
- Thread starter CindyGirl
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I think I'd consider why it's important how it's pronounced. For instance, I might say something like:
"We need to get those invitations out ASAP," Jane said. She pronounced it "ay-sap," which was even more irritating to Barbara than the fact that she'd used the ridiculous expression at all.
If the pronunciation of it doesn't have any particular impact on the POV character that you can include in this way, then I might think about why it's important to specify the pronunciation at all.
"We need to get those invitations out ASAP," Jane said. She pronounced it "ay-sap," which was even more irritating to Barbara than the fact that she'd used the ridiculous expression at all.
If the pronunciation of it doesn't have any particular impact on the POV character that you can include in this way, then I might think about why it's important to specify the pronunciation at all.
A-sap would mean nothing to me. A.S.A.P. would be clear enough, but might look a tad odd in dialogue.
No idea of context, but alternatives might be 'As soon as possible' 'pronto' 'on the double' 'chop-chop' 'double-quick' or some other phrase
No idea of context, but alternatives might be 'As soon as possible' 'pronto' 'on the double' 'chop-chop' 'double-quick' or some other phrase
I've heard ASAP pronounced both A-S-A-P and ay-sap, the second more commonly because it's fewer syllables, but I've always written it as ASAP, without the periods. If the pronunciation is important to the plot somehow it would be a good idea to clarify in the narration that so-and-so pronounces it one way or the other, but if it's not important I'd just have so-and-so say "ASAP" and leave it at that.
Thanks. I see what you mean. In the ms, ex-military use this phrase in general conversation. I've heard it pronounced at-sap in the real world.
I wasn't sure how to convey it in dialog.
There are a bunch of words in common use that are actually acronyms. GIF, FAQ, laser, sonar, radar, scuba, ID, IQ, ETA, etc. As near as I can tell, it's always written as the acronym, not the pronunciation of the acronym.
I've heard ASAP pronounced both ways (A-S-A-P and ay-sap) but as others have said, I'm not sure there are many circumstances where which one was used would matter a lot.
I've heard ASAP pronounced both ways (A-S-A-P and ay-sap) but as others have said, I'm not sure there are many circumstances where which one was used would matter a lot.
I use ASAP and AKA a lot in mysteries and police procedurals, in both dialogue and text. I've never had a reader complain; of course, one might expect that audience to be familiar with the terms.