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Developing a ship-shore radio communication technical vocabulary list

ORCiD logo with link | School of International Studies Civil Aviation University of China
 | Tianjin The Second Yaohua High School
Published online: 20 January 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/term.25011.zha
Abstract
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) is a vital component in marine radio communication for vessel traffic service (VTS) operators and other marine personnel, playing a critical role in preventing maritime accidents caused by miscommunication. The current paper presents a Ship-shore Radio Communication Technical Vocabulary List (SRCTVL), which was developed based on an analysis of the IMO SMCP and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) guidance. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to develop the SRCTVL. The quantitative analysis involved the use of computer programs designed for corpus analysis, while the qualitative analysis consisted of collaboration with trade experts and a thorough examination of technical documents. The resulting SRCTVL contains 188 word types. Coverage evaluation demonstrates that the SRCTVL covers 25.02% of the SMCP corpus and 11.47% of an authentic ship-shore communication corpus. The SRCTVL serves as a valuable resource for maritime English instructors, facilitating targeted training for both native and non-native English-speaking bridge crews, VTS operators, and other personnel who use radio communication in VTS areas. Implementing vocabulary-based training using the SRCTVL could contribute to reducing miscommunication in multilingual workplaces, thereby enhancing overall safety at sea.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Ship-shore communication as a controlled language
    • 1.2Specialized terminology and technical vocabulary
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Compilation of the standard marine communication phrases corpus
    • 3.2Technical vocabulary identification
    • 3.3Evaluating the ship-shore radio communication technical vocabulary list
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • RQ: What is the coverage of the SRCTVL over the SMCP corpus, the general spoken texts, and the authentic ship-shore communication corpus?
  • 5.Pedagogical Considerations
    • 5.1Potential implications for instructors
    • 5.2Potential implications for learners
    • 5.3Potential implications for testers
    • 5.4Potential implication for translators
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
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