Initialism
An abbreviation formed from initial letters of words and pronounced letter by letter (e.g., BBC, FBI). Initialisms are distinct from acronyms.
Real World
BBC is recognised globally as an initialism, yet most viewers never consciously expand it to 'British Broadcasting Corporation' — showing how initialisms acquire independent lexical status.
Exam Focus
Always clarify that initialisms are pronounced letter by letter; contrast with acronyms to show precise metalinguistic knowledge.
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