# Capitalization of "Belgian Army" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424 "2022-01-08T11:59:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/21 "2022-01-09T03:35:45Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > As per my cite in post 2, the official name of the institution is the Landcomponent, which, helpfully enough, translates in English as “Land Component”. That’s not really helpful, though. Translation by calque or gloss is not always—perhaps almost never—the best translation. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/22 "2022-01-09T03:55:43Z")
This is my take on it as well. “A Belgian army would in no way be a match for a Russian army” presents no problems that I can see, as it is a generic reference. As for capitalized words in general, it seems English is more littered with them than many other countries. For example, the months of the year are not capitalized in French, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish or any of the Norse languages (but in Italian they are, for some reason). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/23 "2022-01-09T04:00:32Z")
As others have said, I think it depends on the context. If you’re talking about the official organization is should be capitalized. For example; _“The Belgian Army is one of the component forces of NATO.”_ But if you’re using the term to describe some portion of the country’s military forces, then it isn’t capitalized. For example; _“The Germans smashed through the Belgian army at the Battle of Liege.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/24 "2022-01-09T04:36:19Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > So is this sentence correct? _The British navy is called the Royal Navy_ No. As I understand it, since 1707, it has been the United Kingdom, not the British navy. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/25 "2022-01-09T05:15:06Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > As I understand it, since 1707, it has been the United Kingdom, not the British navy. Explain that logic to Paul Revere. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/26 "2022-01-09T05:15:50Z")
Google Translate seems to feel that Landcomponent should translate as “Land Component”, but I’ll happily defer to any Flemish Dopers we have on hand. FTR, the official name in French is Composante terre, which would also be “Land Component” in English. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/27 "2022-01-09T07:56:12Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Yes, it is, because there is no entity called “the British navy”. And thereby - or at least by the fact that there isn’t a “Royal Army” - hangs a lot of history (but that’s another story). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/28 "2022-01-09T08:02:47Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > So, _The British navy prevailed at Trafalgar_ is preferable to _The British Navy prevailed at Trafalgar_ ? Yes. Because, while there was _a_ navy at Trafalgar under command from Britain/the UK, its _name_ was (and is) “the Royal Navy”. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/29 "2022-01-09T10:33:09Z")
I fear the discussion has gone off the tracks. My thanks to **Acsenray.** ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/31 "2022-01-09T14:44:47Z")
“British” is the correct demonym for the United Kingdom. Citizens of the UK hold a citizenship that is also officially called British, even if they come from Northern Ireland (which is not on the island called Great Britain). So it’s perfectly correct to speak of the “British navy”, whose proper name is the “Royal Navy” (the army, OTOH, has the proper name “British Army”). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/32 "2022-01-09T14:55:27Z")
Yet another argument for pacifism and in favour of the abolishment of all armies, navies, air- & space forces. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/33 "2022-01-10T17:02:47Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > (the army, OTOH, has the proper name “British Army”). IIRC there’s some historical shenanigans going on there, in that the Royal Navy was something founded as a single national organization by the Crown, much like the RAF was. Meanwhile, the British Army was long comprised of regiments raised and controlled/commanded by noblemen, not the Crown. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/34 "2022-01-10T19:34:49Z")
As I understand it, the reason was that early on in British history, Brits became skeptical of a standing army as a potentially oppressive tool of the government, and therefore tolerated the existence of such a standing army only with parliamentary approval (which, to this day, is renewed by Parliament every few years). The navy and later air force OTOH were seen as unproblematic because they could not be used for domestic purposes, so the government was given free hands here without parliamentary involvement. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/35 "2022-01-10T20:56:22Z")
I believe it is more about the history of where the army and navy came from. The army arose during feudal times, with units supplied by the king’s vassal lords. The army wasn’t “royal,” because it didn’t belong to the king, and it was not paid for by the king. The vassal lords of the king owed their lordships to maintaining their obligations to provide army units whensoever demanded. The navy, however, was created directly at the order of and under the direct command of the monarch using funds from the royal treasury. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/36 "2022-01-10T22:58:33Z")
That’s what I was getting at, but not so eloquently. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424/37 "2022-01-11T15:43:05Z")
Yes, _Landcomponent_ is not a regular name for ‘army’ in Dutch. _Leger_ is normally used as a translation for _army_, but _leger_ usually refers to the entire armed forces, including but not restricted to what the US calls the ‘army’ (land forces) but also including air force, marine. That causes the confusion in translation. The land based armed forces are in The Netherlands called the _landmacht_ (land based force). The total armed forces in Belgium are apparently divided in sections called ‘component’, hence the name ‘Landcomponent’ for _landmacht_ or army in US terms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitalization-of-belgian-army/957424.md?page=1)