Talk:ы

A while ago, I asked whether a Russian header 4 should be added meaning ч or not. In that case, it sounded the same. It was advised not to add. In this case ы looks the same, but is added. I'd say that 4 should be added as well. --User:Mallerd (Zeg et es meisje) 01:03, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

The difference is that ы is a Cyrillic letter, and the main purpose of the section under that heading is to describe and explain what it is and how it is used and how pronounced. Even so, this Internet usage is so novel and weird that I hesitate to mention it. However, 4 is not Cyrillic at all, but translingual. Almost every language uses 4 to mean the same thing. The use of 4 as a Cyrillic letter is probably going to be a short-lived phenomenon, because now Cyrillic has become so easy to use and so available to anyone who needs it.

If this style of writing Cyrillic by using Roman letters and numbers should become a little more standardized and if it appears that it will be an enduring system for writing Russian, then definitely it will need to be described properly just like any alphabet. But many of us think that Leet is a mere fad and will be gone soon enough, and I think that this Cyrillic Leet will vanish, too. That’s why we have entries for only the most popular and widespread Leetisms, like pwned, and it’s why I believe that we don’t need to worry about a Cyrillic 4 just yet. If its usage ever becomes entrenched and significant, then we will treat it the way we do similar symbols in other languages, such as Thai 555 and Chinese 555. 555 has been used in Thai and Chinese for a long time, so it is important to explain it. —Stephen 02:10, 3 November 2009 (UTC)