# Translation of Russian Constructivist poster **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827 "2010-10-29T22:30:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/1 "2010-10-29T22:30:17Z")
[This](http://herculezz.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/constructivism/rodchenko/) much-parodied (by Franz Ferdinand among others) poster by Rodchenko features a woman shouting and some text. Can anyone translate this or provide a bit of context please? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/2 "2010-10-29T22:35:11Z")
In the link, the woman is shouting “книги по всем отраслям знания,” “Books in all branches of knowledge,” or something like that. Is that the original, or a parody? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/3 "2010-10-29T22:41:34Z")
What does “LENGIZ” mean? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/4 "2010-10-29T22:59:40Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What does “LENGIZ” mean? I’m pretty sure this is the name of the publisher, the one the ad is for. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/5 "2010-10-29T23:09:08Z")
Thanks guys. It’s a bit more prosaic than I expected - thought it would be some revolutionary call to action rather than an ad for books. Funny how not knowing the language forces you to focus on the design. It is the original - you can see the Franz Fendinand version [here](http://www.team8design.com/team8Blog.html) (scroll a bit). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/6 "2010-10-29T23:12:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What does “LENGIZ” mean? That’s not a Russian word per se. I’m guessing a compound or an acronym based on a word beginning in лен- (Len-) and another in гиз- (Giz-). (searches online for a while) Aha! It appears to be some form of Ленинградский государственный издательство (Leningradskij gosudarstvennij izdatjelstvo): Leningrad State Publishing House. ETA: Of course it’s a Russian word, by definition, but you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/7 "2010-10-30T00:16:17Z")
Dr Drake, in LC transcription like you used, is there some standard way to signify a soft sign on a non-final consonant, like the ль in издательство? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/8 "2010-10-30T02:29:59Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Dr Drake, in LC transcription like you used, is there some standard way to signify a soft sign on a non-final consonant, like the ль in издательство? I think they use ’ but I’m not certain. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/9 "2010-10-30T03:40:16Z")
> [@snorlax](#): > > Thanks guys. It’s a bit more prosaic than I expected - thought it would be some revolutionary call to action rather than an ad for books. Funny how not knowing the language forces you to focus on the design. > > It is the original - you can see the Franz Fendinand version [here](http://www.team8design.com/team8Blog.html) (scroll a bit). Well, the original Russian poster looks much better than the Franz Fendinand cover, I must say. ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/10 "2010-10-30T22:28:48Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I think they use ’ but I’m not certain. Just want to confirm that this is indeed correct. In strict transliteration, the single quotation mark (often a non-curly one) is used even in word-final position. I see a couple of minor errors in your transliteration, **Dr. Drake**. It should be “Leningradskii gosudarstvennyi izdatel’stvo” in LC, or “Leningradskij gosudarstvennyj izdatel’stvo” in scholarly transliteration. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/11 "2010-10-31T00:36:00Z")
> [@Anaptyxis](#): > > Just want to confirm that this is indeed correct. In strict transliteration, the single quotation mark (often a non-curly one) is used even in word-final position. > > I see a couple of minor errors in your transliteration, **Dr. Drake**. It should be “Leningradskii gosudarstvennyi izdatel’stvo” in LC, or “Leningradskij gosudarstvennyj izdatel’stvo” in scholarly transliteration. 🙂 Thanks. I was a little surprised to hear I was following the LC system – I was just winging it so that those who didn’t read Cyrillic could follow and see the Len-g-iz- in the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/12 "2010-10-31T05:33:09Z")
> [@Anaptyxis](#): > > Just want to confirm that this is indeed correct. In strict transliteration, the single quotation mark (often a non-curly one) is used even in word-final position. > > I see a couple of minor errors in your transliteration, **Dr. Drake**. It should be “Leningradskii gosudarstvennyi izdatel’stvo” in LC, or “Leningradskij gosudarstvennyj izdatel’stvo” in scholarly transliteration. 🙂 Also, since izdatel’stvo is neuter, both adjectives should end in -oye, not in -iy/-ii ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/13 "2010-10-31T16:16:20Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Also, since izdatel’stvo is neuter, both adjectives should end in -oye, not in -iy/-ii D’oh! You are quite right. I adjusted it from an example that was in the genitive case. ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/14 "2010-10-31T17:54:53Z")
And I should have my degree revoked for missing that…:o Totally correct now (I swear): Leningradskoe gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-russian-constructivist-poster/558827/15 "2010-11-01T09:24:49Z")
> [@Anaptyxis](#): > > And I should have my degree revoked for missing that… Another Russian major? Where’d you study?