Semantics - 'WW2', or 'WWII' ?

Discussion in 'Historiography' started by von Poop, May 1, 2010.

?

Which abbreviation do you use?

  1. WW2

    7.5%
  2. WWII

    57.5%
  3. Either

    34.9%
  1. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Just wondering.

    ~A
     
  2. militarycross

    militarycross Very Senior Member

    I have always wondered why it wasn't 2WW or 1WW since that is the way I tend to speak of them more than WW2.

    I wonder, semantically speaking, if it is an American Language vs British [Commonwealth] difference.

    Would appreciate hearing what others think of this lingustic convention.

    cheers,
    phil
     
  3. marcus69x

    marcus69x I love WW2 meah!!!

    WW2 for me, although sometimes I say 1st or 2nd world war.
     
    Red Jim likes this.
  4. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Semantics - 'WW2', or 'WWII' ?

    I have no particular favourite, but what I do not like to see is WW11 posted, as sometimes happens.

    I suppose that WWII is more European as it uses old Roman numerals:D

    Regards
    Tom
     
  5. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Writing WW2 saves you answering questions from imbeciles about WW eleven![​IMG]
     
  6. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Don't know why but I've always liked WWII.
     
  7. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Thought I'd key it in to see what I would do automatically.

    WW2 ? WWII ?

    No contest, as far as I am concerned

    WW2 every time

    Ron
     
  8. marcus69x

    marcus69x I love WW2 meah!!!

    I've sometimes typed ""2 by mistake. :lol:
     
  9. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Well

    not much help here from me

    I use WW2, WWII and lastly World War 2 or World War II
     
  10. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    WW2
     
  11. LesCM19

    LesCM19 "...lets rock!"

    "World War Two" in a sentance; prefer the Roman numerals version but the 'II' bit can look like 'small Ls' in certain typefaces, so use "WW2" usually
     
  12. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Google Hits:
    WW2 - c.12,700,000
    WWII - c.15,300,000

    I always think, rightly or wrongly, Of 'WWII' as a primarily American usage, or maybe more suited to dramatic film posters.

    Hmm, restricting Google hits to a UK search:
    WW2 - c.1,720,000
    WWII - c.862,000
     
  13. wtid45

    wtid45 Very Senior Member

    WW2 it comes to mind 99% of the time.........and to be honest I aint got a clue how to write it with the Roman numerals on the computer anyway;)
     
  14. Alan Allport

    Alan Allport Senior Member

    I have always wondered why it wasn't 2WW or 1WW since that is the way I tend to speak of them more than WW2.

    I wonder, semantically speaking, if it is an American Language vs British [Commonwealth] difference.

    Would appreciate hearing what others think of this lingustic convention.

    cheers,
    phil

    In the British Commonwealth, 'The Second World War' is still preferred; this seems to have been established by Churchill's six-volume memoir/history of the conflict, the first volume of which was published in 1948. A year later the first volume of the massive official British government history of the war came out, and it took its lead from Churchill. So the label stuck.
     
  15. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    What's wrong with Great Patriotic War?
     
  16. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    In the British Commonwealth, 'The Second World War' is still preferred;

    I agree, I say that when speaking but it wasn't a votable option.
    ;)
     
  17. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I agree, I say that when speaking but it wasn't a votable option.
    ;)
    It wouldn't be, since I was wondering about abbreviations, would it. :p
    Though I'd also agree that 'The Second World War' is the 'official' English title.
     
  18. gaspirator

    gaspirator Member

    I use WW2 for web indexing (eg when posting YouTube videos) as I've always assumed this to be the most popular abbreviation.

    However, as a Brit, I was always brought up with 'First World War' and 'Second World War', not 'World War One' etc.

    Putting on my anorak, I remember that the British changed from Roman to Arabic numerals in their technical nomenclature in 1944, so 'VII' on a .303 cartidge headstamp was superceded by '7'. I have a 1944 Sten Gun stamped 'Mk.V' and a 1945 example stamped 'Mk.5', so I'm sticking to 'WW2'!

    - Pete
     
  19. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    However, as a Brit, I was always brought up with 'First World War' and 'Second World War', not 'World War One' etc.
    I prefer to use 'The Great War'.
    :)
     
  20. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    I always use WWII, but when writing it out, use the Second World War. Go figure.

    WW2 is rarely used here, to my notice and when I google something, I use WWII. I guess I may be missing some sites by limiting my searches to only WWII.

    WW11 irks me.

    Don't even get me started on terminology for the 1861-1865 war here on the North American continent.
     
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