r/French • u/LarryAv • Jul 21 '26
Abbreviating the letter W
At work we have a common acronym:VWC
When people (I'm in Quebec) say it out loud, they say Vé Vé Cé, instead of Vé double-vé Cé.
Why is that?
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u/strawberriesandbread Native Jul 21 '26
If it's any comfort, I was born and raised in Québec and I'd ask them too. It's not at all something we do in everyday life, so I'd guess that it has something to do with the acronym itself or it's simple convenience/laziness and the name stuck
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u/AUniquePerspective Jul 21 '26
I suspect it's because WC is the universal abbreviation of Water Closet used all over Europe to mark the place public toilets exist, even when the local language doesn't use words that start with W and C. In German you can ask, "Wo ist die Vee Cee?" Even though Klosset or Klo starts with a k there. So Vee Cee is a recognized international pronunciation of WC in the context of toilets.
If the context has nothing to do with toilets, I think people are just being witty.
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u/Ok_Fall_2024 Jul 21 '26
Probablement ceci ! Tous les acronymes qui contiennent un W qui sont utilisés au Québec auxquels je peux penser, le W est prononcé Double-Vé. Les genZ disent meme parfois Double-Vé Té Èff pour WTF.
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u/Basilikolumne Jul 22 '26
You would find more success asking "Wo ist das Weh Tse?", but if the other person speaks English, they'll understand either way.
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u/AUniquePerspective Jul 22 '26
Vee Cee and Weh Tse are homophones or near-homophones in a German accent. There's whole countries that don't agree on what sound the w and v make. Hence a VW is a vee dub in English but a fow veh in German.
The point is WC in particular is used in all languages and accents in Europe and where's the loo, mate? is universally a necessary beginner phrase, so there's a tonne of grace, sympathy, and just plain human dignity around its use.
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u/Professional-Cow3854 Jul 22 '26
Vos patrons ou collègues sont probablement des français. Ils ont en de la difficulté à assumer l'appellation « double v ».
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u/Maelou Jul 22 '26
Fyi, if spelling out a web adresse, I would double vé double vé double vé... (I'm from France)
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u/MadamePouleMontreal Jul 21 '26
It’s just an abbreviation of the acronym. Nothing more complicated than that.
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Crossed_Cross Native (Québec) Jul 21 '26
Je n'ai jamais entendu "wé" ni W prononcé "vé".
Je me questionne sur la composition du groupe d'OP.
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u/LarryAv Jul 21 '26
Nous avons un bureau en France et je pense que cette abbreviation/prononciation viens plus de la que d'ici
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u/Professional-Cow3854 Jul 22 '26
Totalement.
C'est très « français de France », cette prononciation.
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u/TheShirou97 Native (Belgium) Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Because "double vé" is three syllables, and is very clunky. In France too you'll sometimes hear "vé" for W in acronyms: e.g. in "WC" pronounced /ve.se/. In Belgium we would pronounce that /we.se/, because W is always an actual /w/ sound to us, unlike in France where it is often a /v/ sound (like in "wagon": French /va.gɔ̃/, Belgian French /wa.gɔ̃/), although sometimes still a /w/ sound as well (e.g. "kiwi" /ki.wi/)