ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a linguistic description of Aviation English (AE), from the level of pragmatics and discourse to that of phonology and intonation. It describes AE from the point of view of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and to examine the linguistic characteristics of that language variety. The chapter looks at AE as used in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace and considers its use in general aviation, particularly from the point of view of flight training. It focuses on two types of knowledge: knowledge about language and language use, and introduces context and experience. The chapter discusses the functional grammatical categories prescribed by the phraseology. It considers the impact of communication difficulties on aviation safety. Aviation English is an instance of a 'vehicular language for transportation'. Plain English is often defined as language used in problematic situations or when specific phraseology is not available for a situation.
