# Why "cosmonaut"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870 "2005-04-05T17:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/21 "2005-04-07T16:38:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Everything you’d ever want to know about the proper term in most popular languages](http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/english/as/astronaut.html). From the above cite: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > One could reasonably argue that “cosmonaut” is simply the Russian language word for “astronaut”, which the media on both sides have chosen not to translate this way for political reasons. :smack: Yeah, well the cold war ended 15 years ago. It’s like saying “female attorney” when the sex of the laywer is irrelevant–marking terms out of prejudice. It’s not just prejudiced, it’s completely pointless. > [@Widipedia](#): > > On March 14, 1995 astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on-board a Russian launch vehicle arguably becoming the first American cosmonaut in the process. Now that’s just downright stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/22 "2005-04-07T18:52:20Z")
I don’t know why anyone would make a fuss over it. Language works better when terms are more specific instead of less. “Cosmonaut” gives you more information than just “astronaut.” We need more words, not fewer. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/23 "2005-04-07T19:21:08Z")
> [@Dan Norder](#): > > I don’t know why anyone would make a fuss over it. Language works better when terms are more specific instead of less. “Cosmonaut” gives you more information than just “astronaut.” We need more words, not fewer. More words is double plus ungood. :mad: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/24 "2005-04-07T19:27:21Z")
Because “cosmonaut” is a Communist word. Even sorta sounds like “Communist”. Our red-blooded, God-fearing spacemen are _astronauts_, dammit. But, if not for the Cold War, we still might not have cosmonauts, astronauts, or yuhangyuan. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/25 "2005-04-07T20:39:49Z")
> [@Dan Norder](#): > > Language works better when terms are more specific instead of less. “Cosmonaut” gives you more information than just “astronaut.” We need more words, not fewer. Would you propose coining a different word for every profession, for each country? That’s an **M x N** solution for an **M + N** sort of problem, and one that English already solved pretty neatly some time ago. Can’t we just use the nationality adjectives that already exist, and apply them as we do for doctors, cars, and cheeses? And then _not_ apply them when the nationality is irrelevant, as it often is? I’m with the OP. Suppose I’m writing an article on the space program, and I say: “Astronauts living in zero-gravity for extended periods take on a risk of permanent bone loss.” Some smart-aleck comes along and says, “So cosmonauts are immune to the effect?”. Do I now have to go back and substitute “astronauts, cosmonauts, _spacionauts_, and _taikonauts_” wherever I wrote “astronauts”? God help me if that’s true. More likely, I’ll abandon all these terms and write “space traveller” or some-such term, but then _that_ looks silly too, in its own way. People will wonder whether I’m talking about a real profession, or whether I’m a Raelian cult member. Anyway, I’ve seen the terms “Russian astronaut” and “American astronaut” invoked before, in the major newspapers no less, so the usage can’t be completely alien to people. By all means, let’s go with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870/26 "2005-04-07T21:12:06Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > If a star hit Siberia, it would do more than knock down a few trees! I dunno. Ever been to Siberia? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cosmonaut/297870.md?page=1)