In the second part of the article discussing the correctness of the language of logisticians, the reader will find basic recommendations for the spelling of abbreviations of institutions and logistics concepts, further explanations of the spelling of words of foreign origin, as popular as words with the particle biznes (business), internet vocabulary, etc. Furthermore, a commentary on elementary words from the field of economics, such as opust (discount) or upust (spill/discount), liczba (number) or ilość (quantity), dana (datum) or dane (data). Additionally, a few remarks regarding pronunciation errors heard among logisticians. In conclusion, a few reflections on the culture of professional language and the prestige of logistics.
The language of logisticians abounds in various acronyms: names of institutions, companies, concepts, etc. Logisticians repeat a striking, because very common, error of Poles present in the writing of the abbreviation for spółka akcyjna (joint-stock company), in the form of S.A. The rule states that in acronyms of this type, i.e., formed from the initials of words making up the name, written in capital letters, we do not put a period, like RP – Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of Poland), AE – Akademia Ekonomiczna (University of Economics), WSL – Wyższa Szkoła Logistyki (College of Logistics), UAM – Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza (Adam Mickiewicz University), CEL – Centrum Edukacji Logistycznej (Logistics Education Center), PKP – Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State Railways), therefore SA, without periods. Another note regarding the use of acronyms is related to their declension, which logisticians apparently fear. We can freely decline most acronyms (those being a group of vowels and consonants, resembling nouns in structure and sound), they then take the forms: ILiM-u, ILiM-ie, CEL-u, CEL-owi, etc. One must pay close attention to the gender and number of the acronym, which is determined by the gender and number of its main element, e.g., ILiM – masculine gender, because it is an institute, PKP – non-virile gender, plural, because it is railways – non-virile gender, plural; EDI – feminine gender, singular, because it is Electronic Data Interchange. We will therefore write: PKP odebrały, przeznaczyły część funduszy (PKP collected, allocated part of the funds), etc. Unless the acronym sounds like a common noun, in which case the number and gender of the predicate adapt to that noun, e.g., CEL – masculine gender: CEL-u, CEL-em.
When using acronyms, one should carefully write the parts of the name with a capital letter, and prepositions or conjunctions with a lowercase letter: ILiM, JiT (Just in Time). Since the spelling of spółka akcyjna has been discussed, it is worth adding that spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością (limited liability company), spółka jawna (registered partnership), spółka cywilna (civil partnership) are written in lowercase letters with periods: sp. z o.o. (or Sp. z o.o.), s.j., s.c. Abbreviations of the company are also allowed: s-ka, ska. Here, apart from the general rules of spelling acronyms, custom dictates correctness. One must also take into account which abbreviations are allowed by the Commercial Companies Code and the court register of companies. Furthermore, in the spelling of abbreviations, one should avoid inserting the / sign, we write: jw. (as above), ww. (aforementioned), ds. (for affairs), and not j/w, w/w, d/s.
When using acronyms, one should carefully write the parts of the name with a capital letter, and prepositions or conjunctions with a lowercase letter: ILiM, JiT (Just in Time). Since the spelling of spółka akcyjna has been discussed, it is worth adding that spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością (limited liability company), spółka jawna (registered partnership), spółka cywilna (civil partnership) are written in lowercase letters with periods: sp. z o.o. (or Sp. z o.o.), s.j., s.c. Abbreviations of the company are also allowed: s-ka, ska. Here, apart from the general rules of spelling acronyms, custom dictates correctness. One must also take into account which abbreviations are allowed by the Commercial Companies Code and the court register of companies. Furthermore, in the spelling of abbreviations, one should avoid inserting the / sign, we write: jw. (as above), ww. (aforementioned), ds. (for affairs), and not j/w, w/w, d/s.
Speaking of errors in the declension of words (so-called inflectional errors), one must also mention the declension of foreign names, including surnames. The apostrophe sign is commonly known, which is usually used to separate a foreign name from a Polish case ending. It does not always have to be used. It is easy to remember that if a word or surname ends in a pronounced consonant, the apostrophe is unnecessary, as in the words: controllingu, Johna, Phola, outsourcingiem, benchmarkingu. However, if the word ends in a silent vowel (not pronounced), then the apostrophe is in place, e.g., image’u, Pole’a, back-office’owy.
It is worth expanding on the signaled problem with the combined or separate spelling of compound words in which the first part is the word biznes (business). We certainly maintain combined spelling in partially Polonized anglicisms, often used, such as biznesman, biznesplan. However, we write separately: biznes partner (according to the PWN Orthographic Dictionary), business class, business lunch (absent from the dictionary). Another word of foreign origin that may cause trouble is controlling. The latest PWN Dictionary of Foreign Words allows both forms: controlling or kontroling. The Polonized version should be used in the case where it remains in a government relationship, e.g., with the word dział (department), in the phrase dział kontrolingu (controlling department). Ultimately, the English audit has also been Polonized in the forms audyt, audytor. Linguistic problems related to foreign vocabulary from the Internet environment affect the most common phrases, e.g., online, offline. Various spellings are encountered, often separated by a hyphen. Ultimately, one should follow the spelling from English correctness dictionaries, as above. In the group of foreign-language vocabulary, we find terms whose spelling depends on the meaning. Let the Japanese Kanban or kanban be an example. When we mean the system of organizing the production process, then we write the word with a capital letter. However, when we are simply referring to the so-called product card, then with a lowercase letter. On the sidelines of remarks about foreign-language vocabulary, it is worth adding that in most cases, when a foreign word is already in use but has not yet reached dictionaries of foreign words, we refer, as I wrote, to the frequency criterion, i.e., the frequency of occurrence of some form of it. For example, we encounter two types of spelling: homebanking and home banking, phonebanking and phone banking. These new words are not yet registered even by English-language Webster or Cambridge dictionaries. However, we have an excellent tool in the form of an internet search engine, e.g., Google, which will check the frequency of use of both forms – we then choose the definitely more common one, in our case, the combined spelling.