Student - October 21, 2010

Lettter to the editor Resource#5, volume 5

Text:: Gastredacteur

Bachelor's/Master's

I have often been bothered by the wrong use of the word 'bachelor'. Now that the word has also been incorrectly used on the front page of Resource, I feel the need to write to you about it.
The word has two meanings in the English language, these being "single" and "holder of a Bachelor's degree". It's the second meaning we're now talking about. Nowadays, the word is being erroneously used in university circles and in this case, also in your magazine, to refer to the degree itself and not the degree holder.
In Anglo-Saxon countries, the term "Bachelor's Degree" is often abbreviated to "Bachelor's" and we should also keep to this term within university circles in Wageningen.
Likewise, we don't work towards, nor do we possess, a master, but a master's.
Please give some thought to stopping the proliferation of broken English in Wageningen.
A. Van Diest
Editor's note: The Netherlands does not have a degree system; the term "bachelor's" therefore does not apply here. The word "bachelor" refers in Dutch to a "bachelor education" or a "bachelor" title. The same goes for "master". These abbreviations are not only used by the press, but also by, for example, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the educational institutions themselves. "Bachelor" and "master" are therefore not English terms, but Dutch words derived from English etymology.