What is the practice of dropping words from sentences?

Question

Most instructions for equipment and software make a habit of shortening sentences by dropping words of certain parts of speech - usually definite and indefinite articles.

For example:

PULL (THE) LEVER TO OPERATE

CARS MAY BE TOWED WHEN (THEY ARE) PARKED ILLEGALLY

PLEASE USE (THE) OTHER DOOR

Is there a name for this custom? And what is the best way to describe it?

@Yay Thank you for linking that question - exactly what I was looking for! — Dog Lover, Jan 31 '16 at 23:13

Max Wilder · Answer 1 · 2016-01-31T22:42:48.100

2

Abbreviating.

abbreviate (əˈbriːvɪˌeɪt) vb (tr)

to shorten (a word or phrase) by contraction or omission of some letters or words

edited Jan 31 '16 at 22:42

answered Jan 31 '16 at 21:37

Max Wilder

139

Can you add a link to your definition? – ab2 Jan 31 '16 at 22:00
Done. Most definitions I found online are pretty similar. – Max Wilder Jan 31 '16 at 22:43

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 31 '16 at 21:38

2

Certainly.

Headlinese has its own set of rules, some of which actually do make a lot of sense.

answered Jan 31 '16 at 21:38

Ricky

20,450

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 31 '16 at 22:08

2

In general:

elision : the act or an instance of omitting something : omission

answered Jan 31 '16 at 22:08

Hot Licks

27,508

AFAIK elision usually refers to the omission of sounds within words, not to entire words within a sentence. – TomMcW Jan 31 '16 at 22:58
1

@Tom - It can refer to either. – Hot Licks Feb 01 '16 at 01:33

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 31 '16 at 21:45

Definite articles are commonly ignored in technical and scientific writing when it's deemed unnecessary and it's clear what is being referred to.

For example, a technical manual would rarely say "pull a lever", it would always say "pull the lever". So "the" is implicit, and "a" must be made explicit, if that's the case.

This is known as zero-marking.

What is the practice of dropping words from sentences?

4 Answers4

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