4 ms·
Fun fact: most professionals and all official FDA documents use "FDA" and never "The FDA". It's a neat little shibboleth because it is so counterintuitive to om
by jtwaleson 6y ago
Fun fact: most professionals and all official FDA documents use "FDA" and never "The FDA". It's a neat little shibboleth because it is so counterintuitive to omit "the". Use ctrl-f to find the pros in this thread ;)
- momothereal 6y agoThat's the case with any government agency, right? Even in other countries.
- jtwaleson 6y agoI don't know, but am really curious to find out the rationale! I just noticed it as I started working on FDA approval of a medical device this year and thought it was really odd.
- garmaine 6y agoIt’s not off. Sometime you grammatically need a “the”. Sometimes you don’t. Within an in-group, the definite article is often dropped just out of efficiency. We did the exact same thing at NASA when I worked there. When was the last time you heard someone say “The NASA”?
- jtwaleson 6y agoVery interesting! I don't think that grammar is the issue here. "FDA" and "the FDA" are apparently used interchangeably no matter the sentence. With NASA, the difference is that no one spells out N.A.S.A., you say it as one word. With FDA, you spell it out. Please correct me if I'm wrong :)
- kgwgk 6y ago> "FDA" and "the FDA" are apparently used interchangeably no matter the sentence “Taxol gains quick FDA approval” “Taxol gains quick the FDA approval” “Three FDA officials say the drug's approval was warranted” “Three the FDA officials say the drug's approval was warranted”
- jtwaleson 6y agoI didn't mean using the acronym adjectivally, that would be ridiculous as your examples show ;) When expanding the examples and using the acronym as a noun you can indeed use both forms: Taxol gains quick approval of FDA. Taxol gains quick approval of the FDA. Or others: FDA has approved... vs. The FDA has approved... To most lay persons, omitting "the" will look a bit weird. Now the interesting part is that NASA has become a proper noun (probably because it is an acronym that can be pronounced). No one will say "I work at the NASA". With FDA you will see people use both forms, even though the final A in both NASA and FDA stands for Administration. I'm not sure about other government organizations. I don't think anyone says "I work at CIA" or FBI for that matter.
- lupire 6y agoThe FTC, FCC, and Fed DHS, CPB, USCIS The NBA, NFL, and NHL MLB, MLS
- kgwgk 6y agoOk, but I don't think it's different from so many three-letter agencies. People say that they were "investigated by (the) IRS" or "got a letter from (the) DMV" all the time. One reads in the press about companies being "fined by (the) EPA" or people being "detained by (the) FBI". Dropping the "the" doesn't look that weird. Looking at https://www.cia.gov https://www.cia.gov they use both forms "work at the CIA" and "work at CIA" (google returns twice as many results for the former than for the latter).
- parsimo2010 6y agoThis isn’t as reliable of a signal as you might hope. It’s also context dependent. Here’s an example: I’ve presented my research to FDA researchers, and one of my dissertation committee members worked at the FDA twice in her career before coming back to academia. Note that in one sentence I managed to use both options, and I am certainly a pro in this context. And even if you won’t accept that I’m a pro for some reason, the previously mentioned dissertation committee member happens to be the dean of a school of public health and she inserts “the“ or not however she damn well pleases, and she’s a stickler for proper style is most cases. Here’s an example from the FDA itself that uses both options: https://www.fda.gov/safety/fdas-sentinel-initiative https://www.fda.gov/safety/fdas-sentinel-initiative
- ghayes 6y agoThe linked article, an official press release on FDA.gov, uses "the FDA" no less than 12 times? Am I missing something here? > The FDA has determined that ... > In making this determination, the FDA can assure the public ...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]