How to call the inhabitants of Penza - "Penza", "Penza" or something else? Which option is right or preferred? Many people puzzle over this issue - including the residents of Penza themselves.
Instruction manual
1
The dictionaries indicate two versions of the name of the inhabitants of Penza: "Penza" (in the male and female gender - Penza and penza) and "Penza" (penza and penza). From the point of view of the norms and rules of the Russian language, both options are completely equal, and you can use either one or the other.
2
Reality is somewhat more complicated than vocabulary norms. The historical name Penzyaki, which has existed since the seventeenth century since the founding of the city, seems to many now vernacular, slang or even offensive. Therefore, residents of Penza often insist that they be called precisely "Penza", and nothing else. At the same time, especially among the old-timers of Penza, there is also the opposite point of view - that the word "Penza" (which was only mentioned in the last third of the 20th century) is official and very "Soviet", so you must adhere to the historical name.
3
Specialists in the Russian language, however, believe that the Penza option is still more common and therefore preferred. True, the word "penza" in the language has not taken root, and is used very rarely. Therefore, women are usually called simply "residents of Penza."
