Abbreviation of "TV" in Spanish

[Manuel]

I have often wondered...do Spanish people use the abbreviation "TV" for television in speech, and if so, how do they pronounce it???? Because I have seen the abbreviation `TV` in written Spanish, but I just wondered how Spanish people would pronounce it when they read that. Would they just say `tele` or something like that?

[JPablo]

Yes, "tele" is very common. "TeUve" occassionally, but "televisión" is what you read when you see "TV". RTVE: Radio-Televisión Española...
And my uncle used to say "la caja tonta"... :rolleyes: :D

[Manuel]

Thanks a lot Pablo!

So a Spanish person seeing `TV` written would most likely read that out loud as`televisión` or perhaps `tele´. Is it true that the Spanish prefer to pronounce abbreviations and acronyms as words, rather than individual letters? I never thought that `TeUve` would ever be used! But there ya go.

Continuing with the TV theme: I once heard my aunt from Spain ask `»¿Qué hay en la uno?`, referring to what´s on channel one on TV. Why did she use the feminine article in combination with the masculine noun here?? Is that because it´s short for `que hay en la cadena número uno?` ???

[JPablo]

You're welcome, Manuel.

Yes, you're spot on. "La Uno, la tres..." (La cadena 1)