The Language of Seafaring: Standardized Conventions and Discursive Features in Speech Communications

Authors

  • Ana Bocanegra Valle Universidad de Cádiz
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2011/1/137091
Keywords: marine communications, maritime English, oral discourse, specialized discourse, move-step model, discursive features, standard marine communication phrases

Abstract

This paper portrays how English language is constructed and displayed by shipboard crews and shore-based personnel when communicating through radiotelephony. Based on internationally-recognized recommendations for implementation when ships communicate with each other or with shore-based stations as well as on examples of current practice contained in marine communication manuals, this paper explores the message patterns, the standardized conventions, and the general and discursive practices governing speech communications at sea. Firstly, marine communications are defined and the role of Maritime English in the shipping industry for ensuring a safe and efficient passage discussed. Then, the standardized language of the sea is explained. Next, a move-step model to the analysis of the stages making up communicative exchanges at sea is applied and the main general and discursive features that prevail in such exchanges described. Finally, two examples help to illustrate the model and features presented and discussed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Ana Bocanegra Valle, Universidad de Cádiz

holds a Ph.D. in English Philology and is a Senior Lecturer at the Universidad de Cádiz. She has wide experience of teaching EFL/ESP to undergraduate and postgraduate students and has published several papers on various aspects of EFL/ESP learning and teaching. Her main research interests include English language acquisition/learning, methodology and teaching techniques, communicative and language learning strategies, terminology and discourse analysis as they relate to EFL/ESP development, and Maritime English as a particular branch of ESP. She is co-editor of English for Specific Purposes: Studies for Classroom Development and Implementation (2007) and is at present editor of Ibérica, the journal of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes (AELFE).
Published
01-06-2011
How to Cite
Bocanegra Valle, A. (2011). The Language of Seafaring: Standardized Conventions and Discursive Features in Speech Communications. International Journal of English Studies, 11(1), 35–53. https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2011/1/137091
Issue
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2011): New and Further Approaches to ESP Discourse: Genre Study in Focus
Section
Articles

The works published in this journal are subject to the following terms:

1. The Publications Services at the University of Murcia (the publisher) retains the property rights (copyright) of published works, and encourages and enables the reuse of the same under the license specified in item 2.

2. The works are published in the electronic edition of the magazine under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike 4.0.

Licencia Creative Commons

 

3.Conditions of self-archiving. Authors are encouraged to disseminate pre-print (draft papers prior to being assessed) and/or post-print versions (those reviewed and accepted for publication) of their papers before publication, because it encourages distribution earlier and thus leads to a possible increase in citations and circulation among the academic community.

RoMEO color: green

 
SUMMARY IN SPANISH
La Universidad de Murcia se reserva los derechos de copyright del material publicado en esta revista bajo la licencia Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike 4.0., aplicable tanto para la reproducción como la reutilización de los materiales contenidos en ella.