語言能力成短板 中國飛行員需過普通話關

Under new rules posted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Friday, pilots will have to pass a “level four” test of Mandarin Chinese, China’s official language. Those who speak with an accent that “often impedes” comprehension will not pass. These rules take effect in January 2016.

中國民用航空局(CAAC)週五發佈新規，要求飛行員將必須通過中國官方語言——普通話的“四級”考試。如果飛行員的口音重到經常影響溝通，將無法過關。新規將於2016年1月生效。

China’s 56 ethnic groups speak more than 80 languages and dialects. Even native Mandarin speakers can have trouble communicating with each other depending on the the strength of their accents, which can be mutually unintelligible.

中國有56個民族，有超過80種方言。即使母語同為普通話，各地口音也可能造成溝通障礙。

One flight trainer illustrated the scope for linguistic confusion, especially when common English aviation terms enter the equation. Asked if there is a problem on board, a Chinese pilot might answer in the negative with the words mei you, or “there isn’t”. But someone speaking with a heavy Sichuan accent would pronounce mei you as “may day” – unwittingly parroting the universally recognised distress call.

不同方言口音可能造成很大混淆，尤其在用到英語航空術語時。當被問及飛機上是否有問題時，中國飛行員可能説“沒有”，表示否定。但有四川口音的飛行員可能把“沒有”説成“沒得”，聽上去很像“may day”——後者是航空業通用的呼救信號。

Like their international counterparts, Chinese aviators have developed codes to avoid confusion stemming from homonyms or near-homonyms. They use the terms yao for one and guai for seven, which are otherwise pronounced yi and qi respectively and easily confused.

中國飛行員與國際同行一樣，也開發了一些代碼以避免同音字或近音字造成混淆。他們用“幺”代替“一”，用“拐”代替“七”。如分別讀“一”和“七”，則很容易造成混淆。

The new rule could affect all pilots, who must renew their licence every six years, and adds to a growing list of burdens for the profession.

新規可能影響到所有飛行員，進一步提高他們的職業門檻。中國飛行員每6年更新一次執照。