Understanding Aviation english as a Lingua Franca

Abstract

Researchers exploring the use of language use in radiotelephony communication have tended to focus on the limitations of the non-native English user and the threats which their limited control of English may pose for aviation safety (e.g. Atsushi, 2003Atsushi, , 2004. Hence the recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) policy places the onus on non-native users to bring their English to an appropriate standard. The present paper argues that there is a need for a broader perspective on this issue and supports this case with reference to two sources of data: a) episodes of radiotelephony discourse recorded in two air traffic control centres in Korea exemplifying non-routine, abnormal and emergency situations involving NS of English and NNS from different language backgrounds, b) focus group and individual interviews with selected Korean aviation personnel eliciting their interpretations of these episodes and of issues in aviation English more generally. Findings suggest that responsibilities for communication problems in aviation English are distributed across NS and NNS users, and may be partly due to the absence of shared assumptions about efficient and appropriate communication practices in an environment where English is a lingua franca (ELF). Implications are drawn for the communication training of all aviation personnel, regardless of language background.

Pronunciation and Aeronautical English: Brazilians’ difficulties and possible routes to intelligibility

“…These are but several characteristics of an oral language that can affect the pilot's ability to accurately decode message streams and parse their contents into something comprehensible. Kim and Elder (2009), with the help of eight experienced Aviation professionals (five ATCOs and three pilots), analyze recorded discourse data from the main international airport in Korea, involving instances of communication which were considered non-routine, abnormal or emergency situations so that they could identify factors that may contribute to misunderstandings. Even though under-utilization of phraseology was one of the main factors in miscommunication, pronunciation issues were also cited.…”

“…Hancock (2018, p. 4) highlights that if students are aiming for intelligibility, the focus should be the essential features (phoneme distinctions, syllables and tonic stress); as they "are for the benefit of the listener -these features serve to make the intended communication clearer and less ambiguous." Kim and Elder (2009) point out:…”

“…Regarding the use of accommodation strategies, Jenkins points out that speakers have to be aware of the aspects of their L1 which may affect intelligibility. As some other researchers have also highlighted (KIM;BILLINGTON, 2018;MITSUTOMI;O'BRIEN, 2003;SEILER, 2017, among others), it is important for speakers to be aware of the features of their own L1s that may cause misunderstandings while also being aware of the peculiarities that shape other accents. Referring to the 'Lingua Franca Core' (LFC) proposed by Jenkins (2000Jenkins ( , 2002Jenkins ( , 2005, Kim and Elder (2009, p. 14) state:…”

“…Communication problems can range from failing to use Aviation Phraseology and resorting to 'plain English' (especially in the case of native speakers), using slang and idiomatic phrases, using local English, failing to build a shared understanding of the situation, expectation bias readback/hearback errors, call sign confusion, number confusion, spoonerisms, code-switching, ambiguity, speech rate, length and/or complexity of messages, lack of cultural awareness, politeness, etc., to pronunciation aspects (CLARK, 2017;ESTIVAL et al, 2016;GONÇALVES;PACHECO, 2017;KIM;ELDER, 2009;McMILLAN, 1998;MATHEWS, 2012;MONTEIRO, 2012;CAMPBELL, 2008;TAJIMA, 2004, among others).…”

Errors in air-ground pilot communication: an experimental study

“…3 In spite of ICAO's efforts, the ability of pilots to use Aviation English is still questioned and has been the subject of a number of studies and reports (e.g. EUROCONTROL, 2006b;BILLINGTON, 2016;ELDER, 2009;TIEWTRAKUL;FLETCHER, 2010). Looking at commercial aviation, Tiewtrakul and Fletcher (2010) found that pilots failed to understand 79 out of 312 ATC messages at Bangkok International Airport, and that miscommunication between Thai ATC and non-native English speaking (NNES) foreign pilots was consistently higher than with Thai or native English speaking (NES) pilots.…”