Abbreviations [Robin’s HTML 4.0 Conformance Test]
Author: Lionheart, Robin
Description: Test your Web browser’s support for abbreviations. Part of Robin’s HTML 4.0 Conformance Test.

# Abbreviations (§9.2.1)

## Difference between `<abbr>` and `<acronym>`

- `<abbr>` marks abbreviations in general (especially the sort that end in a period).
- `<acronym>` marks acronyms (abbreviations spoken like words) in particular.

Why two elements? Speech synthesizers benefit from the distinction. They may read aloud acronyms (like “RAM”, “NASA”, or “UNMOVIC”) marked up with `<acronym>`, and spell out abbreviations (ex. “WWW”, “cm”, “Sat.”, and “i.e.”) marked up with `<abbr>`.

XHTML 2.0: The W3C is considering removing `<acronym>` in XHTML 2.0, leaving only `<abbr>`.

### Example:

An <acronym>URL</acronym> is like a street address for a document on the <abbr>WWW</abbr>.

#### Speech synthesizers should speak URL as a word and spell out WWW:

An URL is like a street address for a document on the WWW.

Related Internet Explorer bug reports: Channel9 Wiki: Internet Explorer Standards Support.

## Marking up meanings

The `title` attribute can provide the meaning of an abbreviation. Many Web browsers pop up `title` text as a “tool tip” when the mouse hovers over an abbreviation. Speech synthesizers might speak the value of the `title` attribute for an abbrevation.

### Example:

An <acronym title="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</acronym> is like a street address for a document on the <abbr title="World Wide Web">WWW</abbr>.

#### You should be able to access the contents of the `title` attribute in some manner:

An URL is like a street address for a document on the WWW.

Related Internet Explorer bug reports: Channel9 Wiki: Internet Explorer Standards Support.

## Your Browser

Your Web browser identified itself as `Wget/1.11.4` when it requested this page.