Hi, Roy Witt!   
   I read your message from  10.06.2013 07:13   
   about from Russian again.   
      
    AH>>> As native speakers of English you & I would probably say   
    AH>>> "astronaut". Although some sources define "cosmonaut" simply as   
    AH>>> "astronaut", the majority of my usual references define it as "a   
    AH>>> Russian astronaut".   
      
    ak>> Well, but the USSR was the first in space, so its term "cosmonaut"   
    ak>> is a registered term next to "sputnik." Beside this, "astronaut"   
    ak>> IMHO is too pompous and incorrect word.   
      
    RW> Astro has been in use for centurys, as in astrology and many other   
    RW> endeavors.   
      
      In Russian understanding, when we use ending "naut" we imply that a   
   person travels somewhere, and the first part of the word tells us where.   
   For instance, an aeronaut - a person traveling in air; an aquanaut, in   
   water; an astronaut - a person traveling between stars (that's why it   
   is, for a while, an incorrect term). An alconaut - is a person who   
   drinks often. ;=)   
      
      Accordingly, if a spaceship travels between planets we call it   
   "planetolet" - a planetprobe vehicle; if it flies between stars we call   
   it "zvezdolet" (a starprobe vehicle).   
      
    RW> Whoever heard of the term, cosmostrolgy, being used to describe the   
    RW> practice of astrology?   
      
      Well, IMHO cosmos is a more general term. After leaving the Earth,   
   and we are in cosmos. We can orbit the Earth, we can (theoretically) fly   
   to any part of the Universe - so cosmonaut is a more correct term. It is   
   too earlier (and IMHO because of this funny) to call themselves   
   astronauts.   
      
    AH>>> "Astronaut" is certainly in more common use where I come from. It   
    AH>>> is less specific than "cosmonaut", and thus we may have to   
    AH>>> qualify it sometimes... but I wouldn't go so far as to say   
    AH>>> "cosmonaut" is incorrect. I guess Alexander is more familiar with   
    AH>>> the Russian word.   
    ak>> If in Russia we tell a space story we always call the American   
    ak>> guys as astronauts, but the Russian guys are always cosmonauts.   
    ak>> Maybe the Russian people know astronomy well, and they think that   
    ak>> "astronaut" sounds funny comparatively with the distance of modern   
    ak>> space flights.   
    RW> Were they among the 3 Kings that traveled by star to Bethlehem?   
      
      But they didn't fly between stars.   
      
    AH>>> The advantage of using "astronaut" is that there is no confusion   
    AH>>> over what the author meant; the disadvantage is that we may need   
    AH>>> to use at least one more word to indicate the country. OTOH, the   
    AH>>> advantage of using "cosmonaut" is its economy; the disadvantage   
    AH>>> is that it may mean different things to different people. If a   
    AH>>> cosmonaut = a Russian astronaut, "Russian cosmonaut" is a serious   
    AH>>> redundancy which I'd (basically) treat as an error. Until there's   
    AH>>> more general agreement as to the definition of "cosmonaut",   
    AH>>> however, I'll let it pass. :-))   
    ak>> "Russian cosmonaut" is as correct as "Russian/American sputnik".   
    RW> I'd believe Russian Sputnik... Americans used Freedom to name our   
    RW> 1st space vehicles. Freedom 7 carried Alan Shepard into space. He   
    RW> was also the first man to walk on the Moon.   
      
      "Sputnik" is not a name. "Sputnik" is just a Russian word meaning   
   "satellite." Both words are interchangeable. The first Russian sputnik   
   had no name, just number 1. Today, when in the USA they launch a   
   satellite we read in our news that the Americans launched a sputnuk.   
      
    RW> PS - The first man in space was Joseph Kittinger - in a balloon   
    RW> (USA) 8^)   
      
      But space is above 100 km? Isn't it?   
      
   Alexander Koryagin   
   ENGLISH_TUTOR 2013   
      
   --- Paul's Win98SE VirtualBox   
    * Origin: Quinn's Post - Maryborough, Queensland, OZ (3:640/384)