Speak Faster!

[Biff]

Delta Connection seems to always have a bunch of Chinese students going through the program.  This often makes for interesting calls on the radio.

The scanner missed the first couple of seconds of this student calling inbound to the airport.  This was during a very busy period...

[jamall02864]

i fell bad for them it must me hard to have a accsent

[Greeney]

Asian?

[KDSM]

I sure the **** wouldn't be flying into any other countries air space unless I knew their native language extremely well.  We are very spoiled here in the US as English is universal around the globe.

[sillren]

well, english is such an easy language to learn and understand... before taking any flying lessons you should be able to speak clearly. just my 2 c

[tyketto]

well, english is such an easy language to learn and understand... before taking any flying lessons you should be able to speak clearly. just my 2 c

While I agree, you have to realize that for some people, English is their 4th and 5th languages. If you look at the educational systems in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, students there graduate knowing their native language, English, plus a third if not fourth of their choice. English and native, IIRC, are compulsory.

For asians, especially if Chinese, you really have to feel sorry for. They have 4 of their own dialects to learn, then English on top of that

So yes, we're spoiled. But that means 2 things:

1) we would be in the same position they are because for the most, Americans only know 1 language, and

2) we aren't as smart or as well-versed as we think we are. Hence, spoiled.

BL.

[Tomato]

I've had the opportunity to work in an ESL environment... apparently English isn't that easy.  People have had better with French/etc for some reason.

That doesn't necessarily sound asian... maybe he's just stuttering because he's not confident?  "....5 miles, 6, no- 5 miles..." 

[lostmoon]

well, english is such an easy language to learn and understand... before taking any flying lessons you should be able to speak clearly. just my 2 c

I agree and disagree. English is afterall, the industry standard for all international aviation and one should be prepared. However, "english is such an easy language to learn and understand..." is quite subjective and not necessarily a fair qualifier.

[mdr666]

well, english is such an easy language to learn and understand... before taking any flying lessons you should be able to speak clearly. just my 2 c

I assume you're kidding English is hardly an "easy" language to learn. Compared to most other languages, English is the 'king of exceptions'. For every rule, there are a huge amount of exceptions to this rule (unlike most other languages, which adhere much more strictly the the "rules"). I hear native English speakers misusing the language all the time.

For instance, I speak French as a 2nd language more or less fluently (probably less, at this point  ). But, I can pronounce any French word accurately (even if I've never seen the word before and have no idea what it means), simply because French pronunciation follows strict rules. The same cannot be said about English. I've seen many English words that have very ambiguious pronunciations.

Compared to a native English speaker learning an Asian language - yes, it's probably easier, but it by far the "easiest" language to learn.

As far as being able to speak English fluently before attempting to fly (especially in the U.S.), I absolutely agree. People's safety depends on it.

Just my 2 cents.

[davolijj]

The same cannot be said about English. I've seen many English words that have very ambiguious pronunciations.

Also most English verbs don't conjugate like other latin-derived languages.  And the use of contractions and possesive modifiers ('s) are very difficult concepts for non English-speakers to learn.  Also the Romance languages are also totally inflected languages, which means that the wording order is significant but not absolute.  In English the order of words is imparative to comprehension.

[lostmoon]

The same cannot be said about English. I've seen many English words that have very ambiguious pronunciations.

Also most English verbs don't conjugate like other latin-derived languages.  And the use of contractions and possesive modifiers ('s) are very difficult concepts for non English-speakers to learn.  Also the Romance languages are also totally inflected languages, which means that the wording order is significant but not absolute.  In English the order of words is imparative to comprehension.

Precisely. "Home" and "Some", for example. Looks quite similar, pronounced so differently.

I do believe original poster was looking at it from a native's POV. I am sure he is recanting somewhat.

Although, I must say, French is also quite difficult to learn. Tons of exeptions as well. Madame Butt would be proud if she read this post. 

[napoleon]

hello fellow ATC addicts. I speak Russian, Latvian,English and some Spanish. English is by no means  an easy language to master.
             As a pilot I cannot intelligently criticize the controller, but it seems that he could have used fewer words and spoken slower for the poor guy just to get him pointed in the right direction. As far as pilots with terrible accents go, the air is full of 747s  that would require a trained ear to understand. Just listen to JFK tower feeds. my two cents.