What is the correct way to pluralize an initialism in which the final word is not pluralized by adding the letter "s"?

In computer science we discuss an abstract machine called a "deterministic finite automaton". The standard initialism for this term is "DFA". This makes sense in the singular usage of the initialism.

However, the pluralization of the word "automaton" is "automata". One speaks of "an automaton" or "many automata". Consequently, it seems intuitive to form an initialism of the phrase "deterministic finite automata" as "DFA".

This does not seem correct, as "DFA" could be either plural or singular. On the other hand, "DFAs" also does not seem correct because it would seem to expand to "deterministic finite automatons", a phrase which no self-respecting computer scientist would ever utter.

This appears to be a duplicate of the question here What is the plural of the abbreviation of "multiplicity automaton", "MA" or "MAs"?

But that question was never clearly resolved. What to do?

Solution 1:

In reading a few sources--a blog, the Chicago Manual of Style FAQ and the Johns Hopkins Style Guide--on how they handle initialisms, the understanding I've taken is essentially that you should treat the initialism as its own entity, apart from the words it represents. As the Chicago Manual says:

If you can stop thinking of the spelled-out meaning of the acronym and just treat the acronym itself as a word with its own meaning, you should be able to add that little s without fretting.

They are responding to a question about an initialism where the final word is already plural, which is not what the OP is asking, but the advice extends: treat the initialism apart from the word. And, in this case, if no self-respecting computer scientist would ever utter deterministic finite automatons then expect that they would probably correctly infer that DFA followed by plural verb agreement would recall the appropriate terminology.