Notes on Written Communication in Marine Engineering

The aim of this handbook is to provide guidelines for effective communication in the marine engineering context. The guidelines are linguistic in nature, i.e. we wish to raise awareness about the communicative effect that is achieved by using particular linguistic structures. The handbook is based on the assumption that language is used purposefully. The handbook is intended for students who have just graduated from a maritime higher education (MET) institution, the department of marine engineering. It is also intended for engineer officers who engage in written correspondence with superintendents, technical staff, etc. on a daily basis, and finally, it can be used by Maritime English (ME) instructors for teaching writing to students of marine engineering whose English language proficiency is estimated to be B2 or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR2 ). Maritime English is an umbrella term which refers to the English language used by seafarers both at sea and in port and by individuals working in the shipping and shipbuilding industry. Maritime English subsumes five different subvarieties according to the specific purpose they serve within the maritime context: English for navigation and maritime communications, English for maritime commerce, English for maritime law, English for marine engineering, and English for shipbuilding. (Bocanegra-Valle 2013: 3579). Pritchard (2011) defines Maritime English as a collective term that encompasses nautical English for seafarers, technical English for marine engineers, maritime legal English for maritime law specialists and maritime business English for logistics and administration personnel. However, most Maritime English materials, either commercially purchased or house- developed, are commonly limited to the terminology specific to deck officers and/or logistics and shipping. Hence, other specialties, including marine engineering, are subsidiarily addressed, which evokes concerns about their readiness for communication at workplace. It is generally believed that marine engineers’ English language proficiency is lower than that of seafarers in the navigational department, as confirmed by Logie (2019: 212): From Marlins’ experience testing seafarers’ Maritime English globally, we are aware that engineers in particular can require some support to develop their English language skills. The English language level of engineers can often be lower than that of seafarers in the navigational department. Numerous papers have been published on efficient communication on the bridge (cf. Trenkner 1996; Cole & Trenkner 2009; Noble et. al. 2011; Mönnigmann 2015; Pritchard & Kalogjera 2000; Pritchard 2011; John, Brooks & Schriever 2017; Mönnigmann & Čulić-Viskota 2017; Ziarati et. al. 2012; etc.); however, (written) communication in marine engineering practice has been scarcely addressed and English for marine engineering indeed seems to be one of the most neglected subvarieties of Maritime English in terms of research that has been carried out, existing teaching materials, handbooks, etc. Therefore, this handbook is an attempt to contribute to the theoretical and practical aspect of English for marine engineering and more specifically, written communication in marine engineering. A review of existing literature shows that teaching materials for engineer officers are fewer in number and much less developed than those for deck officers. A survey of the syllabi at MET institutions in Croatia (the Faculties of Maritime Studies in Rijeka, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik) has revealed that students studying marine engineering receive 10 to 15 per cent less instruction in English than students in the navigational department, and that a rather small amount of time is devoted to the development of writing skills and written correspondence (e.g. e-mail correspondence, daily, monthly, yearly and damage reports, (dry docking) specifications, remarks in the engine room log book, etc.). At the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Dubrovnik this is partially covered in the course English language 4 (45 hours in one semester) and at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka in the elective course English language 6 (45 hours in one semester). Luzer and Spinčić stated in 1998 that the English language proficiency of marine engineers was a subject matter that had so far been unjustifiably neglected by the maritime community, and unfortunately this situation has not changed even two decades later. The handbook is laid out as follows: In Chapter 1 the existing guidelines pertaining to the English language skills for marine engineers are critically analysed and required levels of English language proficiency for engineer officers established. The function of language and the outline of the basic communication process is described in Chapter 2. Existing models of communication and their application in the language classroom are depicted in the concluding section of Chapter 2 which is intended primarily for Maritime English (ME) instructors. Formal guidelines for efficient communication are presented in Chapter 3 whereas the purpose of Chapter 4 is to provide an outline of different ways in which grammatical and lexical means can be used for more efficient communication. This chapter contains numerous real-life or authentic examples from a collection of e-mails. The focus in Chapter 5 lies on symbolic and abbreviated forms commonly used in marine engineering. Exemplary authentic e-mails as well as corrected authentic e-mails, i.e. good and bad examples are displayed in Chapter 6 so as to provide better insight into the way e-mails should be composed. Finally, conclusions are drawn in Chapter 7 and a summary is given on the most important elements of the handbook