Talk:Belgian military ranks

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I am concerned about the suggested translations for the various ranks. I am a translator and have a professional interest in ensuring that mistaken or incorrect usages do not acquire official or semi-official status. My concern in this particular instance is the use of the phrase "ship of the line" in the translations of the naval ranks. This seems to be suggested as a translation for Dutch "ter zee" or French "de vaisseau". I must quibble with this. "Ship of the line" is a term formerly used in English to describe a ship capable of standing in the line of battle. The actual size and armaments of such ships changed over time. The term "ter zee" means "at sea", while "de vaisseau" means "of a vessel". Here the emphasis seems to be on indicating whether the officer is shore based effectively serving at sea. In the British navy no such distinction is made. I suggest that instead of using the archaic and misleading "ship of the line", comprehension and utility would be better served by the words "sea going":

Lieutenant sea-going Captain sea-going Ensign (midshipman) sea-going

Please comment. In event of no comment being made within 30 days I shall edit the rank names to reflect the above. Augusta2 22:09, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I was also concerned and unsure about the translation, but I got it from the articles Ship-of-the-Line Captain and Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant, which suggest that they are proper translations.--Ganchelkas 08:11, 12 November 2007 (UTC)