[Ads-l] Off-topic: Cyrillic vs. Roman Writing

[Dan Goncharoff]

I have read the Z stands for Zapad, which means "West", but not in Cyrillic.

On Sun, Mar 20, 2022, 9:47 PM victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Honestly, I don't believe it stands for anything at all ... other than all
> the vehicles marked with the same letter belonging to the same unit. People
> are focusing on Z but there's close to a dozen different markings
>
> VS-)
>
> On Sun, Mar 20, 2022, 14:10 Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: Off-topic: Cyrillic vs. Roman Writing
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I doubt it stands for Zorro..."who makes the sign of the Z."
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 20, 2022 at 7:40 AM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
> >
> > > On 3/20/22 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> > > > Date:    Sat, 19 Mar 2022 15:17:37 +0000
> > > > From:    Geoffrey Nathan<geoffnathan at WAYNE.EDU>
> > > > Subject: Off-topic: Cyrillic vs. Roman Writing
> > > >
> > > > Not really in our bailiwick, but on a political posting on Facebook
> > > > by a pro-Ukraine friend there's a picture of a pro-Russian banner.
> > > > It reads Z=D0=B0 =D0=9F=D1=83=D1=82=D0=B8=D0=BD=D0=B0: [za putina]
> > 'For=
> >  Putin'. Now, for those
> > > > who don't read Cyrillic, the first letter isn't Cyrillic but Roman,
> > > > so this is (sort of) code-switched. And, for those following
> > > > the unpleasantness in Ukraine, the 'z' letter has become a rallying
> > > > symbol for the Russian troops (painted on their military
> > > > vehicles and aircraft). According to the Wikipedia entry on this
> > > > use of 'Z' (yes, there is one...) it's become quite common in
> > > > Russian pro-war propaganda.
> > >
> > >
> > > Thank you for this. I've been seeing the "Z" use in political cartoons,
> > > and I haven't been understanding the use or significance or origin.
> > >
> > > It's going to be in bailiwick soon enough as it gets picked up and
> > > appropriated.
> > >
> > > ---Amy West
> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
> > --=20
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
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