Talk:Civil engineer

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why the emphasis on scandinavian engineers? i'

There is good reason for this, because the "civilingenjör" title is highly regarded in Scandinavia, more so than masters of science for example. This particular track of education also has a high international regard. However it could possibly be forked of to some subentry like Civil engineer (scandinavia) or just be listed by its Swedish name, Civilingenjör. Nixdorf 06:33, 2 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Belgian titles

As a Belgian student, I have the following question: Can anyone give me the reason why the Flemish (Belgian) title “burgelijk ingenieur” is translated tot “civil engineer”. It is by law prohibited to translate Belgium titles of engineers to english titles. This is a huge mistake en very confusing for other people. For example: The Belgian title “Burgerlijke bouwkundig ingenieur” is someone who fulfil the deducation as a civil engineer (buildings, bridges,…) But the Belgian title “Burgelijke ingenieur werktuigkunde” is someone who fulfil the education as a Mechanical Engineer, so not as a Civil Engineer!!!

My apologies for my bad english, but I hope that everyone understands my point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Be2005 (talk • contribs) 08:16, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Such a law only applies within Belgium - it is perfectly legal for an American or Australian or South African (or Russian, for that matter) to translate titles into English. However, you have a valid complaint regarding the accuracy of the translation. Without finding a reference, I'd guess that Burgelijke translates approximately as municipal or civic, and most engineering work done for municipalities is civil engineering, which further draws the translator to "Civil Engineering". Argyriou (talk) 17:33, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It is true that the term civil engineer may cause a certain confusion for English speakers, since the Belgian civil engineer may have a different speciality than mere civil engineering. However, it is an official title, and it should be mentioned in the article as such as to avoid the confusion with for example industrial engineers, or even with engineers as used in English language (who do not necessarily have a title or university diploma!). The Burgerlijk werktuigkundig-elektrotechnisch ingenieur for example, becomes a civil mechanical-electrotechnical engineer, with the title ir (not ing!). I added a phrase on the Civil engineer page to explain this confusion. However, since the title is official, it should be kept. The Civil engineer page explains enough about it.

The whole thing is about etymology: the English word engineer comes from engine (i.e. someone who works with engines, a train driver is called engineer in America), whileas the French and Dutch word ingenieur comes from genius. See also the Dutch purist expression vernufteling! LHOON 17:41, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You are incorrect about the etymology. The word engineer in English derives from the same source as the modern French ingenieur; the word engine in English derives from engineer, as something which an engineer makes, not the other way around. Argyriou (talk) 19:41, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]