语言能力成短板 中国飞行员需过普通话关

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.

中国民用航空局(CAAC)周五发布新规，要求飞行员将必须通过中国官方语言——普通话的“四级”考试。如果飞行员的口音重到经常影响沟通，将无法过关。新规将于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.

中国有56个民族，有超过80种方言。即使母语同为普通话，各地口音也可能造成沟通障碍。

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，尤其在用到英语航空术语时。当被问及飞机上是否有问题时，中国飞行员可能说“没有”，表示否定。但有四川口音的飞行员可能把“没有”说成“没得”，听上去很像“may day”——后者是航空业通用的呼救信号。

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.

中国飞行员与国际同行一样，也开发了一些代码以避免同音字或近音字造成混淆。他们用“幺”代替“一”，用“拐”代替“七”。如分别读“一”和“七”，则很容易造成混淆。

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.

新规可能影响到所有飞行员，进一步提高他们的职业门槛。中国飞行员每6年更新一次执照。