Example:
PIN Number (PIN=Personal Identification Number), no need to repeat number
RSVP please (RSVP=Answer please in French), no need to say please again
etc.
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Or my pet peeve: JITC compiler.– Hot LicksJan 15, 2018 at 23:41
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2Answered at "PIN Number" — why do we say it? (the special type of redundancy known as RAS Syndrome: Paul Rein's answer).– Edwin AshworthJan 15, 2018 at 23:42
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@Tonepoet - Shouldn't the note read "Possible RAS (Redundant Answer Syndrome) syndrome"?– Hot LicksJan 16, 2018 at 0:00
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1 Answer
It's been given the ironic and self-referential label RAS syndrome, where RAS stands for Redundant Acronym Syndrome¹.
RAS syndrome
RAS syndrome (where "RAS" stands for "redundant acronym syndrome", making the phrase "RAS syndrome" humorously self-referential) refers to the use of one or more of the words that make up an acronym or other initialism in conjunction with the abbreviated form, thus in effect repeating one or more words.
Two common examples are "PIN (or VIN) number" (the "N" in PIN and VIN stands for "number") and "ATM machine" (the "M" in ATM stands for "machine"). The term RAS syndrome was coined in 2001 by New Scientist.
The more general term in linguistics is the unsurprising redundancy.
¹ Thus RAS syndrome, spelled out, is redundant acronym syndrome syndrome, just as PIN number spelled out is personal identification number number.
answered Jan 15, 2018 at 23:42
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@EdwinAshworth I answered before anyone suggested it was a dupe. You can feel free to close the question as a dupe. I won't mind.– Dan BronJan 16, 2018 at 0:08