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¡Forward, Russia! and punctuation.
Can I just get something utterly pedantic and meaningless off my chest?
It has been troubling me for months.
That upside down exclamation mark at the begining of their name.
Russian doesn't *have* upside down exclamation marks. The phrase 'Forward, Russia' would never have one. As the youth with the bass guitar said to Les McQueen: "It ain't gonna happen, alright?". It's nevozmozhno, as we say. It's a 'nelepost'.
Spanish has them. Now if they were called ¡Y Viva Espana! or ¡Guantanamera!, I could understand.
It's a small point, I'll admit. But I am worried sick that it's sending out all the wrong messages to impressionable kids about Russian punctuation. And therein lies a grave danger.