English as a world language and an International aviation language

Практикум

по чтению текстов авиационной тематики (для студентов 1-го и 2-го курсов по специальностям ЛЭ, Вн, овд, ано)

Часть I

Составители:

Беляева С.А.

Паскевич Н.С.

Попова Г.В.


Предисловие

Данный практикум предназначен для студентов, приступающих к изучению профессионально-ориентированного авиационного языка. Все тексты и упражнения к ним направлены на развитие навыков чтения и понимания специальной литературы и документов ИКАО.

Практикум состоит из 2х частей.

Часть I включает тексты по общеавиационной тематике, лексические и грамматические упражнения к ним.

Часть II включает дополнительные тексты для чтения.


Оглавление

English as a world language and an International aviation language.. 3

FROM THE HISTORY OF AVIATION.. 7

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATIONS.. 11

Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) 15

Weather.. 18

airport.. 23

AIRCRAFT.. 26

Safety.. 30

Air traffic Control.. 33

Human factors in aviation.. 37


English as a world language and an International aviation language

 

English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, almost in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the XVII-th century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, the great growth of population in the United States together with massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has given the English language its present standing in the world. Besides, basic characteristics of English also contribute to the situation that nowadays it is the most spread language on Earth. These characteristics are: simplicity of forms (very few endings); flexibility (the same word can operate as some different parts of speech); openness of vocabulary (English words are frequently admitted by other languages). At present English is the language of business, technology, sport and aviation.

There are four working languages in ICAO – English, French, Spanish and Russian. But all meetings, conferences and assemblies are conducted in English and then all materials are translated into other languages. For this purpose ICAO has a special “Language and Publications Branch” with four sections.

The most urgent problem in aviation is safety. The progress in safety is achieved by intensive efforts in various spheres – engineering sciences, meteorology, psychology, medicine, economics and “last but not least” the English language. Insufficient English language proficiency often results in accidents and incidents. For example, the worst disaster in aviation history occurred in 1977 when two Boeings 747 collided at Tenerife, Canary Islands. The crew of Pan American 747 missed or misunderstood taxi instructions requiring a turn off the active runway. At the same time KLM 747 initiated a shrouded take off on the opposite direction. The two aircraft met on the active runway, with heavy loss of lives.

Between 1976-2000 more than 1100 passengers and crews lost their lives in accidents in which language played a contributory role.

Concern over the role of language in airline accidents brought real actions. So in March 2003 ICAO adopted Amendments to ICAO Annexes 1, 6, 10 and 11. These Amendments make clear and extend language requirements. In addition, they contain new more strict requirements for language testing.

Additional standards in Annex 10 demand to adhere (=follow) more closely to standard phraseology in all air-ground exchanges and to use plain language when phraseology is not sufficient. Phraseology alone is unable to cover all of the potential situations, particularly (especially) in critical or emergency situations. Therefore the PELA (Proficiency in English Language) test examines use of both ATC phraseology and plain English.

 

Exercises

I. Ответьте на вопросы:

 

1. When did the exporting of English begin?

2. In what spheres of life is English most widely used?

3. How many working languages are there in ICAO?

4. In what language are meetings, conferences and assemblies conducted in ICAO?

5. How is the progress in safety achieved?

6. Could you explain why English language is so important in solving safety problem?

7. What are ICAO real actions for improving English language proficiency?

8. Will you describe the Amendments to ICAO Annexes adopted in 2003?

9. What do additional standards demand?

10. Can phraseology alone cover all of the potential situation in the air?

11. What are the PELA test requirements now?

 

II. Переведите слова, обращая внимание на словообразующие элементы:

establish – establishment

special – specially – specialist – speciality – specialize – specialization

urgent – urgency

safe – unsafe – safely – safety

achieve – achievement – achievable

vary – various – variously – variety – variant – variable – variability

sufficient – sufficiently – sufficiency

collide – collision

critical – uncritical – critically – criticize – criticism

require – requirement – unrequired

oppose – opposite – opposition – oppositionist

add – addition – additional – additionally

act – active – actively – activate – activity – action

heavy – heavily – heaviness

contribute – contributory – contribution

lose – loser – loss

strict – strictly – strictness

cover – coverage – discover – discovery

real – really – realist – realistic – realism – reality

 

III. Переведите на английский язык:

 

1. Каково население этого района?

2. Когда появились первые поселения европейцев на этом континенте?

3. Каковы основные характеристики английского языка?

4. Они обсуждают вопрос о новых рабочих языках в ИКАО – арабском и китайском.

5. Когда проводилась последняя ассамблея ИКАО?

6. Кто переводил эти материалы на русский язык?

7. Какова цель этой встречи?

8. Есть какие-нибудь новые публикации по этой проблеме?

9. Они достигли большого успеха в этой области.

10. Большие усилия нужны для решения этой проблемы.

11. Необходимо хорошо владеть английским, чтобы работать в международном аэропорту.

12. Недостаточное владение экипажем английским языком привело к катастрофе.

13. Катастрофа произошла над океаном.

14. На какой высоте столкнулись самолеты?

15. В этой катастрофе была большая потеря жизней.

16. ИКАО примет новые поправки к Аннексам в следующем месяце.

17. У нас достаточно топлива, чтобы лететь в Копенгаген.

18. Мы должны владеть как радиотелефонной фразеологией, так и обычным английским.