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One definition of an acronym is:

An abbreviation formed by (usually initial) letters taken from a word or series of words, that is itself pronounced as a word, such as RAM, radar, or scuba; sometimes contrasted with initialism.

An initialism is:

A term formed from the initial letter or letters of several words or parts of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter.

If I pronounce an initialism, as a word, and not just as letters, does that 'make' it an acronym?

Edwin Ashworth
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AncientSwordRage
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If you look at the third definition of acronym, it directly addresses your question. BBC is an acronym, regardless of whether it is pronounced as letters or as a word. RAM (random access memory) is an acronym whether it is pronounced ram or are-aye-em.

SUPPLEMENT

There is a controversy as to whether initialisms are a subset of acronyms or a distinct class of terms.

Several dictionaries seem to restrict acronyms to those shortened forms that can be pronounced as a word. See, e.g., Oxford Online, Collins, and American Heritage.

Others include initialisms as a form of acronym. See, e.g., the OED, Merriam-Webster and Websters New World. Wikipedia has an article on acrnoyms which notes a difference of opinion as to whether initialisms should be included, and then proceeds within the article to include them. It also notes that there are a number of forms that do not neatly fit into either category, such as JPEG (pronounced jay-peg) and AAA (usually pronounced Triple A).

There is also the interesting evolution of an acronym found in the abbreviation for Standard Oil. It began with SO, a clear initialism, which them morphed to ESSO, a classic acronym. (The company has since become EXXON which does not seem to stand for anthing.

lly
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bib
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    If BBC is an acronym, what would you say was an initialism? – Roaring Fish Oct 19 '12 at 05:31
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    I'd have problems pronouncing BBC as an acronym, unless you mean "Beeb". – Mr Lister Oct 19 '12 at 07:09
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    @RoaringFish BBC is both. See this discussion. Initialisms form a subset of acronyms which are often considered to include terms that are made up with more than just initial letters, such as Interpol (INTERnational POlice)and initial letter terms that are pronounced as words, such as scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) as well as pure initialisms, such as BBC. – bib Oct 19 '12 at 12:18
  • @bib ~ from your own link: "The term acronym is the name for a word from the first letters of each word in a series of words (such as sonar, created from sound navigation and ranging)." i find it difficultbto pronounce BBC as a word. – Roaring Fish Oct 19 '12 at 16:04
  • @RoaringFish I don't disagree that BBC is not pronounced as a word. My point was that pronunciation was not a determinant of whether something was an acronym, and that acronyms include several forms. – bib Oct 19 '12 at 16:34
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    BBC, pronounced /biːbiːˈsiː/. How is that not a word? – nohat Oct 25 '12 at 06:45
  • @nohat that makes it an initialism, not an acronym. You are just pronouncing the letters not the sound together; if you pronounced it Beebcuh...or some such, then it would be. – AncientSwordRage Jan 11 '13 at 19:24
  • @Pureferret huh? The pronunciation /biːbiːˈsiː/ is as much "the sound together" as "Beebcuh". My point is that words whose pronunciations are derived from the names of letters are still "words", for all the meanings that count for what makes a word a word. – nohat Jan 14 '13 at 19:34
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    @nohat I believe that difference is for instance NATO is pronounced as a word "nay-toe" and not as "N-A-T-O" similarly BBC is pronounced "B-B-C" not "bbbck" or something similar. – Hanna Sep 09 '14 at 16:06
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    Definitions 1 and 3 given by Wiktionary conflict. You could as well say 'If you look at the first definition of acronym, it directly addresses your question. BBC is not an acronym, as it is not pronounced as a word.' Selecting a preferred definition and giving it as the only acceptable one is incorrect. 'Acronym' is notoriously ill-defined. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 09 '14 at 19:18
  • @EdwinAshworth Please see supplement above. – bib Sep 09 '14 at 20:29
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    I've even seen one extreme definition which claims that only the handful of words that have made it into the English lexicon as uncapitalised items (thus radar, scuba, sonar but not RAM) should be called acronyms. But this strict definition is not endorsed by acceptable authorities. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 09 '14 at 22:01
  • ... ... ... Hello, bib ... I'm just revisiting, citing this in a newer thread. // The Wiktionary article seems to have changed quite significantly: they spell out the divided usage. But they do go on to say that in articles where the issue crops up, they themselves use the narrower sense of acronym, so not including FBI and BBC, for instance. – Edwin Ashworth Sep 24 '22 at 14:46
  • And in 2024, the consensus seems to be shifting to acronyms (using the now default definition) being distinct from initialisms, 'pronounced-as-a-word' being the diagnostic. I've checked all your references; only OED does not list the pronounced-as-a-word moiety as the default (even though M-W is a historic dictionary). – Edwin Ashworth Jan 14 '24 at 10:23