OK, not related to careers but I make no apologies:Most of us whether in IT Consulting, MC or industry will sometimes come across SAP. Can someone tell me once and for all whether SAP is pronounced "S.A.P." or "sap" please??

Surely it makes little difference?

Mr Consultant,You sir, are a Sap!If you haven't got better things in life to be worrying about and behave like a man then I challenge you to a duel - pistols at dawn...(cue: effeminate slap around the face with my glove)What say you?Marquis Cholmondley-Warner Esq.

Yous pronounce it sap innit

Whatevs

Like poker, there are "tells" that distinguish an amateur from a professional. This is but a small example of such differentiators.

S.A.P is an acronym and is pronounce as S.A.P and not 'sap'. Hope it clarifies.

Now that wasn't so hard, was it. Thanks

An acronym by definition is pronounced as a word. So if S.A.P. is an acronym then it is pronounced sap.

Please try pronouncing I.B.M. Hope you get it now. :-)

What? Everyone in IBM (at least in my office) pronounces this ibm.

ibm is not an acronym

but HAL was..

I'm an acrostic

"IBM is not an acronym"That's a good one! It is indeed an acryonym, it stands for International Business Machines

People often mistake initialisms for acronyms.An acronym is a pronounced word which is made up of the initial letters of a the series of words for which it stands, e.g. Laser (Light Amplification by a Stimulated Emission of Radiation.)On the other hand, an initialism is a series of letters pronounced as such which stands for a series of words, e.g. QED (Quod Erat Demonstrandum.)EC

Interesting point Evil Consultant. Thanks for the info.After reading about acronyms and initialisms on wikipedia, I understand that the difference between the two is bit of a grey area.The funny thing is acronym S.A.P has a german origin and stands for 'Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung' ("System Analysis and Program Development"). Suits perfectly as an acronym (as per the defination of acronym -source wikipedia).Later, however, the acronym was changed to 'Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung ("Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing"). Now it fits for 'initialism' Anyways, without deviating from the main question,i.e, S.A.P or 'sap', please note the following quotation and presumably the reason why S.A.P company itself doesn't want their company name to be pronounced as 'sap'.Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind.” Leonardo da VinciMeaning of the word 'sap' : • SAP (noun) The noun SAP has 3 senses:1. a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant2. a person who lacks good judgment3. a piece of metal covered by leather with a flexible handle; used for hitting people• SAP (verb) The verb SAP has 2 senses:1. deplete2. excavate the earth beneathHope it helps.

People who use S.A.P. will say S.A.P. and get annoyed by people who say SAP, your average man in the street would probably say SAP.

And those in the know call it ScrAP