CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Throughout our publication, you'll find West Virginia abbreviated as both "WV" and "W.Va." Which is the correct abbreviation for West Virginia?
According to official guides to American English, "W.Va." is still the preferred punctuation. This is because it leaves little room for misunderstanding. The abbreviation "WV" is also the accepted abbreviation for scores of other two-word combinations that begin with the letters W and V, including "weight variant," "Wabash Valley," "West Vancouver," and "Whitewater Valley."
Will the abbreviation "WV" gain acceptance formally?
Will the abbreviation "WV" ever gain formal acceptance? Yes and no. Its correct use depends on the circumstances.
The two-letter abbreviation first arose widely as part of the United States zip code system, in which the two characters appeared as part of a string of seven, as in the example "WV 25301," a mail code for part of Charleston, West Virginia. In this case, its use dictates the form, and, followed by the numbering system, there is less chance of misunderstanding.
As part of the postal code, the use of WV has become widespread throughout electronic communication. Computer language and Internet searches depend far more on WV as a term. Whether or not a search will recognize W.Va. as a relevant term depends entirely on search-engine algorithms, proprietary to the engines themselves.
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