Postal Abbreviations - 8 July 2009

What's the deal with using the two-letter postal code abbreviations for states, instead of the longer, more formal abbreviations? That is, why write IN for Indiana instead of good old Ind.? A caller is annoyed by U.S. Postal Service abbreviations creeping into modern prose, and thinks they should be reserved for postal addresses.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:<br/><br/>Email: words@waywordradio.org<br/><br/>Phone: <br/>United States toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673<br/>London +44 20 7193 2113<br/>Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771<br/><br/>Site: http://waywordradio.org.<br/>Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/<br/>Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/<br/>Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/<br/>Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/<br/>Skype: skype://waywordradio <br/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awwwpodcast?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awwwpodcast?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awwwpodcast?i=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awwwpodcast?i=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awwwpodcast?i=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~ff/awwwpodcast?a=SldzMHzP7Qo:v-pw1TpQcxM:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/awww