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English in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
Author(s) -
Johnson Barry
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/1467-971x.00129
Subject(s) - telegraphy , context (archaeology) , telephony , clarity , scapegoating , telecommunications , computer science , quality (philosophy) , distress , reading (process) , history , linguistics , psychology , political science , law , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , politics , psychotherapist
Traditional methods of sending and responding to distress and safety alerts at sea, involving telegraphy and telephony with limited range and clarity, have been superseded by a mainly satellite‐based system, with global range and high quality. Alerts are now primarily initiated by telex from ship to shore, rather than to other ships, and the message, including the latest ship's position, can be entirely automated. Responses can also be automated, and made via telex. In these circumstances, it may be supposed that the use of English, especially spoken English, is of less importance for the safety of life at sea. However, this study shows that for the new system to work properly, a good command of English is still required, from the reading of technical manuals and safety warnings to the ability to communicate by speech via telephony, as well as by writing via telex. In the context of increased multilingual crewing on ships where the working language is English, the teaching of both general and maritime English to ships' crews is more important than ever.