Did you know that the International Language of Aviation is American English?

[AviatorTom]

Air Traffic Controller and Radar Display

Wherever you go in the world, pilots and Air Traffic Control speak to each other in American English, using a standard set of terminology.

Did you know that?

What do you think of that?

Updates

1 y

In addition to a common aviation language, common measurements are also used: altitudes in feet, speed in knots, except for a few countries (ex: China, Russia) that use metric meters for altitude.

[Red_Arrow]

Yes. I have known that. I know some pilots students from other countries who are attending pilot schools in the United States. Of course they have to have a lot of money to come here and pay for the school. I know one guy who was great as a pilot, but could not learn English well enough to pass the test for his license and had to return to his country knowing how to fly but unable to get the license because he just could not overcome the language problem he had.

[msc545]

I do know that as a pilot. What you do not know is that most controllers and pilots speak so fast to each other that most people cannot understand what we are saying... we do this because air traffic control frequencies are *really busy and crowded*.

[purplepoppy]

France was pretty reluctant to change to English, they refused point blank for a while. In fact they still use French for internal flights.

When I think of American English, I think of cookies v biscuits or chips v crisps and of course incorrect spellings such as color. I wonder what aviation phrase are different and why we don't have "international English"

[purplepoppy]

Did you know when ships ENTER harbours and rivers the safe channel is marked with red buoy to your port side green to your starboard side. This is international except in the USA which does it the other way round.

[Shiprex]

I am under the impression the US chose the opposite way of driving and passing purely because it WASN'T the way the British did it. However I would also add that the RHD driving convention brought on where vehicles let others pass on their right side as would armed knights on horseback is also safer as the natural reaction when faced with danger ahead is to bring your right arm up which would turn a vehicle using a wheel to the left (lifting the wheel with the right arm for imagery) so as to move the vehicles out of each others way and avoid collision.

[msc545]

Here in the US it is "red right returning".

[OlderAndWiser]

Yes, I periodically watch YT videos about aviation and I hear the recordings between pilots and ATC. I don't know the history of how that came to be the standard.

[Lliam]

I didn't know that. Kind of like how people learning certain scientific disciplines have to learn Latin terminology. Having a lingua franca avoids confusion. When it comes to communicating with aircraft and control towers around the world, that's particularly important.

[DJB72]

It's been the international standard for decades. And "left" and "right", and other directions aren't exactly "American English", just plain English.

It makes it so any pilot in the world can safely fly in any airspace in the world, except North Korea.

[Shiprex]

I think you'll find it is simply English and not the lazy Americanisation of the world language. But I did know this and I believe it is also the basis of the language of the seas or SEASPEAK probably because at the time globalisation kind of kicked off the British using their English sort of had a monopoly on international travel.

[strateguy632]

I am pleasantly surprised. I thought they hated us as much as democrats hate ourselves! They would not want to sound like American jerks... but international don't hate us.

[exitseven]

I did know that. It;s about time the rest of the world gets with the program. and we need to get rid of the metric system as well. It is annoying to have to have 2 sets of wrenches.

[Massageman]

Yes. Crews that are bi-and trilingual can command somewhat higher pay, but they all must know basic "English air-speak", so to speak.

[DryGermanGuy]

„Roger, Roger! What’s our vector, Victor?“
- Cpt. Clarence Oveur, Airplane!

[Likes2drive]

Makes sense considering we were the first in flight with the Wright brothers in North Carolina an English is more international than other languages also

[NicholasRedone]

@AviatorTom Tom, Surely you can't be Shirley you must be Surly, surely, Serious? Lol 🤣😆

[beefcakebradybatson]

Small wonder there aren't MANY, MANY MORE international aviation accidents considering these international aviators are aping Yankees' often ungrammatical syntax !!!

[Mulcair]

Crazy 51st State residents...

[beefcakebradybatson]

@Mulcair LOTS of ex-Yanks of relocating here. (By the way, Thomas Mulcair was our New Democratic Party leader !!!)

[Anonymous]

Interesting, did you know that official language of Illinois was American and not English? :D

Yup, it was actually in the Illinois constitution.

[BarryLiverstone]

Flight was invented in the Carolinas so that’s logical

[fish5505_87]

Yes, and not just because Air Disasters is one of my favorite shows!

[ArrowheadSW]

I kind of thought so.

[Mulcair]

This is so cool

[BDRick]

For real?