Language Awareness and Intercultural Competence as Human Factors in Pilot-Controller Communication

In addition to English proficiency, language awareness and intercultural competence have been identified as factors that influence pilot-controller communication in a number of ways. A lack of language awareness and/or intercultural competence can negatively impact aviation safety and reduce the efficiency of communication in air traffic management. This paper identifies communication problems resulting from inadequate language awareness and/or insufficient intercultural competence. These issues are then linked to existing scholarship on language awareness and intercultural communication in a variety of settings such as international trade, multinational companies or Internet-based communication, to identify parallels with and possible transfers to the field of aviation