# "Earth" in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577 "2002-08-12T18:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pavel\_lishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@pavel\_lishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pavel_lishin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/1 "2002-08-12T18:35:20Z")
[[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mearth.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mearth.html) ] A quick correction… “Earth” in Russian is not “zeml”, as the article states. There are actually two words for “Earth”. Earth translates to zemlya, and it means both Planet Earth, and “dirt” earth, as in the stuff you walk on. Mir is another word which means “world” and “peace” (see, you capitalist pigs, we have peace built right into _our_ world… :P) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/2 "2002-08-13T03:12:43Z")
"çåìë " spells “zeml”? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/3 "2002-08-13T05:24:08Z")
I think **pavel** had it correct. I don’t think I know how to do Russian font here, but it as he/she said. ---
**Author:** ![pavel\_lishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@pavel\_lishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pavel_lishin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/4 "2002-08-15T16:24:10Z")
Yeah… in Duck’s post, I do see the russian letters spelling the “zeml” in Russian, but if you don’t have the encoding set up correctly, you might just see it as giberrish. The internet, it seems, isn’t very friendly to foreigners. 😛 And I’m a he. 😜 ---
**Author:** ![Bindlestiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bindlestiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bindlestiff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/5 "2002-08-16T13:16:22Z")
In the internet context, what is a foreigner? I don’t mean to sound snotty, it just made me think that each of us is a foriegner somewhere and with the internet in the picture, it is probably somewhere we’re being part of a conversation. Hmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![pavel\_lishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@pavel\_lishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pavel_lishin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earth-in-other-languages/123577/6 "2002-08-17T01:16:52Z")
True, true, but the internet was developed as a Department of Defense project, and was originally wholly american - note that most of the .com’s, .org’s, and .net’s are american, as are the origins of the extensions ( **com** mercial, organization, _net_work or whatever that stands for). Also, note that the web mostly uses the english language - especially in domain names. You really can’t use anythign but the English alphabet when registering, except the - symbol. Anyway, I’m drunk, so I apologize if any of that didn’t make sense. 😃 Ooh, sweet, a jewish icon! I’m a quarter jewish. I hope that counts. ;j