A corpus-based multi-dimensional analysis of the linguistic features of Aviation English

Abstract

Aviation English (AE), a specialized register of English, prioritizes precision, brevity and clarity to maximize aviation safety. While there has been a growing focus within the linguistics community on AE training and assessment since the release of a set of standards and recommended practices, its linguistic properties remain comparatively underexplored. Drawing upon Biber's (1988) multi-dimensional (MD) analysis framework, the present study conducted a corpus-based comparative MD analysis to investigate the multi-dimensional linguistic profile of AE vs. casual conversational English (CE) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to extract and interpret the co-occurring linguistic features of routine AE and non-routine AE. The comparative MD analysis shows that AE exhibits more information condensation, less authorial stance and technicality, and fewer features of online information elaboration compared to CE. The EFA shows variations in the linguistic and textual composition of the two sub-registers of AE across two dimensions. Non-routine AE demonstrates a present-focused, viewpoint/intention-oriented approach, involving higher levels of integrative information flow compared to routine AE. Routine AE is characterized by a higher degree of information condensation and is marked by a planned, procedural, and intensive use of standard phraseology. Some pedagogical implications are then proposed for enhancing AE training to cultivate pilots' and air traffic controllers' language competence for precise, unambiguous communication tailored to both routine and non-routine operational contexts.