Doing the “Double Talk” Dance

I was watching an episode of The Golden Girls the other night when Dorothy, my favorite character, said she had reached her limit at the automated teller machine. It occurred to me that I hadn’t heard this full pronunciation of "ATM" in a very long time. And that if I walked outside and asked someone where the closest automated teller machine was, it would probably take him or her a moment to process what I was asking. Someone younger than twenty would probably shrug their shoulders in total confusion.

However, if I were to ask anyone where the nearest "ATM machine" was located, we'd all be on the same page. But let's look at what I'd be asking: "Excuse me, where is the nearest automated teller machine machine?" This question is an example of a redundonym, and those who use them (pretty much all of us), are doing the "double talk" dance. A redundonym is an acronym ("ATM") that is followed by a word already included in the acronym ("machine").

When you go the ATM, would you say you enter your personal identification number (PIN), or your personal identification number number (PIN number)?

Would you go to your bank to inquire about an individual retirement account (IRA), or an individual retirement account account (IRA account)?

Would you search for a book using its International Standard Book Number (ISBN), or its International Standard Book Number Number (ISBN number)? [note: I only recently realized that I've never not used this redundonym.]

Much of this is colloquial, meaning we say it all the time in our informal communications, and unfortunately, in formal speech and writing where these casual “everybody does its” can make the writer look amateurish and sloppy. I’m trying to be more careful with my use of these, but it’s not easy. Want to know a secret? I prefer saying “PIN number” because to me, it’s a PIN number! I’ve never entered a PIN a day in my life. (Never said I was perfect…just telling you how to be).

Here are some other examples of redundonyms, courtesy of The Copyeditor’s Handbook by Amy Einsohn (great book by the way):

Incorrect= GRE exam (correct= GRE)
Incorrect= HIV virus (correct= HIV)
Incorrect= UPS service (correct= UPS)