How are we able to decipher acronyms and initialisms so easily?

Answer 1

My answer to this question is Are we able to decipher acronyms and initialisms easily? I suppose it all has to do with the cultural and linguistic foundation of the interpreter. For example, in considering this question, I asked my classroom full of juniors if they knew the meaning of some common acronyms. When the subject of WHO came up, most could identify that it means World Health Organization. The students who could identify the meaning acknowledged that they probably would not have been able to identify this acronym in January 2020, and because of the pandemic, they have been exposed to this on a regular basis. Initialisms such as FBI, CIA, and WAP (albeit, more recently) have been culturally ingrained into the everyday language of the citizens of this country, and nearly every inhabitant has become adept in interpreting them.