In English there is a concept of the “Tautology,” the repeating of an idea in a specifically similar way that can be distilled down to “saying the same thing over again.”
“RAS syndrome” Is an example of rhetorical tautology.
The linguistic function of “RAS syndrome” can be clarity. For example if you tell someone “you will need a pin to apply…” it can be heard as “you will need a PEN to apply”, or one of the many other cases where an acronym has several meanings (AC in a home can be alternating current or air conditioning etc…) and technology and business add new acronyms almost constantly- when we factor in acronyms and abbreviations made popular by text based communications and slang…. Well… an “ATM machine” might not be so redundant if you are describing yourself on a dating site…
That last bit was a bit of humor, but the principle holds true that slang abbreviations further complicate the issue and can make clarity difficult. It’s still shorter to say or write “PIN number”…
.. than “personal identification number.” Language is full of tautologies in general- unnecessary redundancy. Have you ever seen or heard the very common: “Please RSVP”?
“RSVP” comes from French, Répondez s'il vous plaît- meaning essentially, “please respond?” Or more literally “respond if you please.” So in English it is commonly stated as “please respond if you please..” To an English speaker the leading “please” before RSVP softens the statement even though “please” is part of the acronym. Likewise acronyms are not All universal. It is common in foreign languages, especially in escorts like technology where the standards are often English language and the local language is I’ll equipped or has no words for a standard, to use an English acronym or name along with a native language name or acronym that often creates a tautology or “RAS” example.
The above “cuttlefish” is an example of linguistics, and not so long ago here in funsub someone posted a meme about “Torpenhow Hill,” tor, pen, how, and hill all mean “hill,” so it is hill hill hill hill. Now- I’m fairness there is some debate as that “tor+pen” combined may not mean “hill hill” and may become akin to “hilltop” in the way many Hànzì (Mandarin characters) or Kanji (the Japanese use of these characters) can often both combine characters to form words independent of the meaning of either individual character as well as each character may itself be a combination of other individual characters but have meaning unique from those characters or only conceptually related. It is also the case that many locals do not report knowing the hill as or referring to it as “Torpenhow hill” but it is still a fun example.
So in conclusion- the use of seemingly redundant words in relationship to acronyms or even language isn’t always ignorance. It can be used for clarity or for effect and reasons of perception, or it can be somewhat necessary for a linguistic construct to work- this is a subset of effect or what we can call poetry, word play, or turn of phrase.
“Wipe that grin off your face” is linguistically redundant. Where else could the majority of people have a grin except their face? But “wipe off that grin” doesn’t ring the same does it?
“First and foremost,” “you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” “close proximity”
These are all some examples.
We see linguistically or logically unnecessary tautology often in litterateurs, poetry, and song lyrics as well.
People commonly say things like “10pm at night?!” For emphasis- but pm already denotes night. To the case of clarity, saying “10pm tonight” might clarify an event is the same day, but often “tonight” isn’t needed as many situations…
Would create contextual inference. As an example- if you are discussing wanting to jog in the morning on weekends at 4pm on a Friday and a friend says: “let’s do it. 5am. Meet in the park by Dave’s…” you don’t necessarily need to specify they mean tomorrow, though it may be prudent. They also don’t really need the “am” as 5pm would not be a morning jog. These are examples of where most languages- in these cases English, are full of repetition we could logically truncate.
“RAS syndrome” Is an example of rhetorical tautology.
The linguistic function of “RAS syndrome” can be clarity. For example if you tell someone “you will need a pin to apply…” it can be heard as “you will need a PEN to apply”, or one of the many other cases where an acronym has several meanings (AC in a home can be alternating current or air conditioning etc…) and technology and business add new acronyms almost constantly- when we factor in acronyms and abbreviations made popular by text based communications and slang…. Well… an “ATM machine” might not be so redundant if you are describing yourself on a dating site…
That last bit was a bit of humor, but the principle holds true that slang abbreviations further complicate the issue and can make clarity difficult. It’s still shorter to say or write “PIN number”…
“RSVP” comes from French, Répondez s'il vous plaît- meaning essentially, “please respond?” Or more literally “respond if you please.” So in English it is commonly stated as “please respond if you please..” To an English speaker the leading “please” before RSVP softens the statement even though “please” is part of the acronym. Likewise acronyms are not All universal. It is common in foreign languages, especially in escorts like technology where the standards are often English language and the local language is I’ll equipped or has no words for a standard, to use an English acronym or name along with a native language name or acronym that often creates a tautology or “RAS” example.
“Wipe that grin off your face” is linguistically redundant. Where else could the majority of people have a grin except their face? But “wipe off that grin” doesn’t ring the same does it?
“First and foremost,” “you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” “close proximity”
These are all some examples.
We see linguistically or logically unnecessary tautology often in litterateurs, poetry, and song lyrics as well.
People commonly say things like “10pm at night?!” For emphasis- but pm already denotes night. To the case of clarity, saying “10pm tonight” might clarify an event is the same day, but often “tonight” isn’t needed as many situations…