# Pronunciation of abbreviation: ASAP



## Jean-Michel Carrère

Can the abbreviation "ASAP" (As Soon As Possible) be used in *speaking*, and if so, how is it pronounced (A.S.A.P. or ASAP) ?

Thank you for your help.


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## Bienvenidos

Yeah, it's used when speaking, and I've heard it said both ways (spelled out, and said as ASAP)

*Bien*


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## Ada..

Hi!
I am not a native English speaker, but I do not like it at all. I can think of some similar examples I have found in my language, but they just occurred as a group fashion , and they were only used for a short while as a funny thing, then they were forgotten; I gess that it is to be pronounced, and it gets extended enough to be assimilated, as most acronyms, it would be pronounce both ways...
I may be totally wrong...


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## suzi br

I've never heard anyone say is as a word, only as the initials spelt out.


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## viera

I have heard it pronounced as a word.


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## __Jess__

I've only ever heard people say it A.S.A.P but that's not to say it isn't pronounced as a word too. I suppose it's just personal preference.


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## panjandrum

In my world, this is occasionally heard as the spoken letters - but not very often.
I have also heard it spoken as a single work except word in a very flippant manner in very informal contexts.
I have much, much more often heard "as soon as possible".


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## GenJen54

Hi J-M,

I certainly don't think it is "common," but at least familiar enough to be easily understood when used. I think I hear it more on tv cop or dramas.

It is pronounced: ay-sap

The "a" rhymes with the long a in "say."  The "a" in sap rhymes with the short "a" of "cap," "cat," or "hat." (And of course, "sap.")

I have also heard A.S.A.P., which is a bit more common.


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

Thanks a lot !


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## paulrobert

"ASAP" spoken as a word has been very common and very accepted in AE in military organizations and in other very structured organizations, especially where spoken instructions have the force of legal orders.  In other contexts, I have seen it used very informally and sometimes can be reacted to as very demanding, even over-demanding to the point of rudeness, whether it was intended or not.  For example, in some corporate cultures if you omit a "please" in a request to another employee regardless of your relationship or your respective positions, it will be frowned upon.  I'm sure "ASAP" would not be politically correct in such places.


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## Fernando

As a matter of fact, "ASAP" (both written and spoken) is considered rude for most Spanish-speaking people. It is used from time to time anyway.


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## french4beth

I have heard both (A.S.A.P. and 'ay-sap') in business contexts, but the phrase has been so overused that it has lost much of its meaning, especially in today's world of instant messaging, etc.


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## almostfreebird

suzi br said:
			
		

> I've never heard anyone say is as a word, only as the initials spelt out.


 

I don't understand this sentence grammatically. Why "is" is in there between "say" and "as"?


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## french4beth

almostfreebird said:
			
		

> I don't understand this sentence grammatically. Why "is" is in there between "say" and "as"?


Looks like a typographical error, probably should have read 'it'.


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## emma42

It sounds like there is a BE/AE difference here.  I have heard "Ay Ess Ay Pee", but never asap in England.  Mind you, I don't work in fast-moving business circles.


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## rsweet

I've heard ASAP pronounced as a word. "I need this ASAP." As far as I know, WYSIWYG is always pronounced as a word "wizzywig." I've heard grown men talk about "gooey" technology (GUI), and I once heard a sales say that she would give me the "Earl." When I questioned her further, I realized that she was talking about "URL."


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## panjandrum

Internally, where it is clearly understood, we use gooey for GUI, and wizzywig for WYSIWYG.
Externally, we use neither the strange words nor the initials.
These are jargon, and it is discourteous to use jargon in the wrong context.
The difference between as soon as possible and A S A P is marginal, and not worth the effort. In any case it's said only to duck the cliché.

Saying 'ahsap (our version) is funny once, or maybe twice, but better not said at all.


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## sterlingtexas

Oops! Forgot the first part of the previous...

In my dealings with people who in general want things "yesterday", the use of A-S-A-P or A-sap depends on their speaking style and how urgent the mission is.

A drawling person might want a semi-important "thang" "ayah-esss-ayah- peee"

However, that same person will look you straight in the eye and say..."Ah need this aaaa-SAP!"


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## MarcB

In my corner of the world a.s.a.p. has always been very commonly spoken, perhaps as mentioned too much. ASAP spoken from time to time, but is frequent in the military and hospitals. Jokingly I have heard sooner than possible.


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## danielfranco

At the hospital it's a spoken word so common that it had lost a bit of it's meaning of urgency. I've always heard people say (still in the hospital setting) "*Ay-sap*", but all it seems to mean is "do it kind of a bit faster than you would if you haven't got anything else really important pending". Now, if you want people to actually drop what they have in their hands and RUN to do what needs to be done, then you ask for it "STAT".


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## french4beth

sterlingtexas said:
			
		

> In my dealings with people who in general want things "yesterday", the use of A-S-A-P or A-sap depends on their speaking style and how urgent the mission is.
> 
> A drawling person might want a semi-important "thang" "ayah-esss-ayah- peee"
> 
> However, that same person will look you straight in the eye and say..."Ah need this aaaa-SAP!"


That's too funny, sterlingtexas - so, if they _say_ it faster, that means they _need_ it faster?  

I also like 'sooner than possible', marcB - that's a new one for me! 

Also, if there are any other slow learners out there (like me), I finally looked up WYSIWYG - it means: 
*



What You See Is What You Get
		
Click to expand...

*from thefreedictionary.com:


> adj - relating to or being a word-processing or desktop publishing system in which the screen displays text exactly as it will be printed
> n. - a WYSIWYG system, effect, or screen display


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## panjandrum

danielfranco said:
			
		

> [...] Now, if you want people to actually drop what they have in their hands and RUN to do what needs to be done, then you ask for it "STAT".


Stat, short (by two letters) for _statim_, has been used in medical circles to mean immediately since way before asap was born Asap is quite relaxed by comparison.

(No further conversation about WYSIWYG in this thread please )


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## HOUYI

how to pronounce this word "asap" ,means as soon as possible? 
/eisæ/,or/ei/ /es/ /ei/ /p/,or others?
I'll appreciate your reply.


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## ewie

Hello Houyi and welcome to the forum  I've attached your question to the end of this old thread which should answer your question.  (To find a previous thread click on the 'search this forum' button towards the top right of the main index page)

~ewie, moderator


I pronounce ASAP as *either* /'eisæp/ or /eieseipi:/.


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## Lideln

Hi,

I could hear it lots of times as "asap" (a word) in several TV series.
(pronounced "a" followed by "sap")


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## HOUYI

your considerateness were all  appreciated，especially for ewie


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## Englishmypassion

This new question has been added to a previous discussion.  Cagey, moderator 

I was wondering if "asap", the abbreviated form of "as soon as possible", is also pronounced as a word/an acronym in addition to its pronunciation as four independent letters  "a.s.a.p." in speech/ informal English.

Thanks.

Emp


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## Language Hound

I remember when it was only pronounced as four independent letters.
Now, however, I seem to only hear it pronounced as one independent letter, _A_, followed by "sap" (one syllable).*
Perhaps people feel they no longer have the time to say each letter...

*Or perhaps it is being pronounced as a word (long "a" + "sap").


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## Englishmypassion

Thanks a lot, LH. By "long a sound", you mean  the sound of "a" in "cat". Right?
Thanks.


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## DonnyB

I think I've only ever come across it in business use, although I daresay nowadays it's crept into text messaging as well. I don't personally use it in informal conversation, but if for some reason I had to pronounce it I'd use Emma's suggestion (post #15) "Ay Ess Ay Pee".  I wouldn't try and say it as a word.


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## Englishmypassion

Thanks a lot, DonnyB. 
But if you're using "asap", instead of the proper expression, to save your time and energy, why not save as much of them as possible and pronounce that as a word?


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## tittiugo

almostfreebird said:


> I don't understand this sentence grammatically. Why "is" is in there between "say" and "as"?


likely she wanted to write "IT"...


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## DonnyB

Englishmypassion said:


> But if you're using "asap", instead of the proper expression, to save your time and energy, why not save as much of them as possible and pronounce that as a word?


If someone said to me "aysap" I'd have to pause for a brief moment to work out what it meant, although I daresay it would be moderately obvious from the context.

Besides "Ay-ess-ay-pee" is only four syllables instead of two.


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## dojibear

Language Hound said:


> (long "a" + "sap").





Englishmypassion said:


> Thanks a lot, LH. By "long a sound", you mean  the sound of "a" in "cat". Right?
> Thanks.



No, by "long a sound" he means the "a" in hate/skate, which is written as "ay" in say/day/ray/slay/Jay.

The "a" in cat/sap/rat/lap/Sam is called "short a" in English.

The Long A sound is also the name for the letter A in English (where each letter has a name). When people "spell out" A.S.A.P. they do it using those letter names: ay, ess, ay, pee. 

But in AE, I have heard it spoken as a word countless times: A-sap.


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## natkretep

I think saying ay-sap is getting more common in both BrE and AmE. I hear it now and again. (I don't think there is a BrE and AmE, as suggested in post 15.)


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## Englishmypassion

Thanks, Donny, Doji and Nat.

Yes, Doji, I did know that but LH said he hears it  "pronounced as one independent letter, _A_, followed by 'sap'). (one syllable).*
*Or perhaps it is being pronounced as a word (long 'a' + 'sap')."

Don't they mean the same thing? That confused me and I wanted to know what he meant by "long a".


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## natkretep

Same thing, like my ay-sap. IPA /ˈeɪsæp/.


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## Englishmypassion

Thanks a lot, Nat.


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## PaulQ

To sum up:
Seven posters agree that A.S.A.P. and "asap" are used.
Two posters have not heard the word "asap".
Possible pronunciations of the word are (i) A(as in 'cat')sap; (ii) Ay(as in 'pay')sap - apparently increasing in popularity (iii) arse-app -tritely humorous and fortunately rare.


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## london calling

PaulQ said:


> Seven posters agree that A.S.A.P. and "asap" are used.


Make that eight. I personally use neither, but if I did I would spell it out: A.S.A.P. _Ay-sap_ is too American for my liking (as a speaker of BE: I have no problem with the Americans saying it).


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## Englishmypassion

PaulQ said:


> Possible pronunciations of the word are... (iii) arse-app -tritely humorous and fortunately rare.



I thought that was a kind of latest app! 

Thanks, PaulQ, LC and everybody else.


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## JulianStuart

PaulQ said:


> To sum up:
> Seven posters agree that A.S.A.P. and "asap" are used.
> Two posters have not heard the word "asap".
> Possible pronunciations of the word are (i) A(as in 'cat')sap; (ii) Ay(as in 'pay')sap - apparently increasing in popularity (iii) arse-app -tritely humorous and fortunately rare.


(I like arse-ap)
I used hear both ay-ess-ay-pee and ay-sap quite frequently (when running in the rat race) but I've never, ever heard the ass-ap (both a's being short as in cat) version.  You cite it as possible (fine, theoretically) , but are you saying you've heard people actually use it?


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## RM1(SS)

I've heard it pronounced as a word much more often than as a string of letters, and would only say the word version.


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## Englishmypassion

RM1(SS) said:


> I've heard it pronounced as a word much more often than as a string of letters, and would only say the word version.



That's how I've been saving my breath, energy and time for quite some time! (I usually use the full expression but sometimes just say "aysap"-- I don't pronounce it as "A.S.A.P".)


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## Language Hound

Englishmypassion said:


> Thanks a lot, LH. By "long a sound", you mean  the sound of "a" in "cat". Right?
> Thanks.


No.  That is a short "a" (see post #34 for Dojibear's reply to this question).



Englishmypassion said:


> Yes, Doji, I did know that but LH said he hears it  "pronounced as one independent letter, _A_, followed by 'sap'). (one syllable).*
> *Or perhaps it is being pronounced as a word (long 'a' + 'sap')."
> Don't they mean the same thing? That confused me...


Sorry for the confusion.  No doubt due to my lazy editing.  I should have just written: "Now, however, I seem to only hear it pronounced as one _*word *_(ay + sap)."


PaulQ said:


> To sum up:
> Seven posters agree that A.S.A.P. and "asap" are used.
> Two posters have not heard the word "asap".
> Possible pronunciations of the word are (i) A(as in 'cat')sap; (ii) Ay(as in 'pay')sap - apparently increasing in popularity (iii) arse-app -tritely humorous and fortunately rare.


Great summary, Paul, especially now that the thread has been merged with a previous one and is now over 40 posts long!
The only thing I disagree with is that a possible pronunciation is A(as in 'cat')sap.
I have never heard it pronounced with a short "a" sound, only a long one.


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## PaulQ

Language Hound said:


> The only thing I disagree with is that a possible pronunciation is A(as in 'cat')sap.


Ahem... that is how I say it (and how the *word* was said in the area in which I worked.) (Give me your phone number and you'll never again be able to say "I have never heard it pronounced with a short "a" sound, only a long one." )

The *initials*, to me, are "ay-es-ay-pee." and I think all are in agreement.


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## Language Hound

PaulQ said:


> Ahem... that is how I say it (and how the *word* was said in the area in which I worked.)...


So very sorry!  I don't remember you writing that in a previous post and thought that your wonderful summary citing the "A(as in 'cat')sap" pronunciation was based on Englishmypassion's misunderstanding of my "short 'a' pronunciation" comment.


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## JulianStuart

PaulQ said:


> Ahem... that is how I say it (and how the *word* was said in the area in which I worked.) (Give me your phone number and you'll never again be able to say "I have never heard it pronounced with a short "a" sound, only a long one." )
> 
> The *initials*, to me, are "ay-es-ay-pee." and I think all are in agreement.


(I used to live near St Asaph which started with a cat vowel.  Was that near your location ?)


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