Isn’t “AVIATION” Also Jargon?
“However, people who speak a specialised language tend to
overestimate the extent to which others outside their group understand their jargon.
Often, jargon becomes so embedded in a group’s vocabulary that
it affects communication with people who don’t speak the specialists’ language.”
– apolitical, “For clear communication, cut the jargon”
Jargon creates identity. The strong, positive and convenient impact of jargon across aviation careers has transformed this industry into an impenetrable epitome of functional communication. It simplifies complex ideas and helps prevent vocal fatigue by reducing repetition. It’s not only efficient to be able to communicate an entire paragraph’s worth of information in a few words or phrases, in truth, It’s encouraging and refreshing. Similar to having one’s own code language with only a selective field of people being able to decipher it, meanwhile streamlining communication and making it more exciting.
Jargon in aeronautical operations reduces uncertainty in communication while lowering the risk of misinterpretation of a critical or emergency situation. Additionally, it increases convenience preventing communicative fatigue and mistakes prompted through repetition. A major proof of it lies in Aircraft anatomy; it includes the systems and concepts an Aircraft is composed of. Learning the fundamentals and later on comprehending advanced conceptualization of these topics are crucial parts of the training stages across aviation practitioners such as pilots, maintenance technicians, instructors, air traffic control, engineers, management, ramp agents, inspectors etc. These trainings would be nearly impossible without the use of field based technical language.
Take the nomenclature of an aircraft for example. It uses a variety of unique names to identify the interior and exterior parts of an aircraft such as fuselage, empennage, horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, ailerons, winglets, propeller, powerplant, and countless other ones. It would be exponentially more difficult to describe a precise section of the vehicle using its exact location or a description of its appearance or function multiple times during a conversation rather than to just simply stating the name of it. All these names fall into the category of aviation jargon. Though not easily grasped by a general, bigger audience, the notions are effortlessly and quickly conveyed to its specifically intended audience. Then again, it’s not meant for a general crowd. In fact, aviation jargon is used precisely in the aviation industry, flowing in the dialogues exchanged by members belonging to the aviation family. Now these could take place in flight school, trade school for maintenance, an aviation management course lecture, in the flightdeck, in the cabin, on the airport ramp, at the tower or anywhere else.
Another crucial part of this distinct language culture is the use of acronyms. The use of acronyms in this industry is so prominent that one can confidently say that the jargon was founded based on acronyms. For example, a major component of ground based radio navigation of aircrafts is the VOR system. VOR stands for VHF (Very High Frequency) Omnidirectional Range. Now, which one is easier to say- VOR or Very High Frequency OMNIDIRECTIONAL RANGE? Let’s explore another example- FADEC(Fay-deck). FADEC stands for Full Authority Digital Engine Control; This revolutionary technology digitally monitors and controls all engine parameters in an aircraft such as ignition timing, fuel flow, engine speeds (N1 and N2), EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), bleed valve positions etc. Now, think about a student in the aviation maintenance program trying to learn and understand the FADEC system. Having to say the full form of this acronym instead of the two syllable acronym would exhaust their brain before they can even register more information on this topic. In fact, there are thousands more acronyms like VOR and FADEC that aviation professionals use on a day to day basis. These acronyms also contribute to the aviation jargon as a necessary component. Sure, the full forms of these acronyms provide more context during a chat with someone foreign to the industry, but who exactly is having multiple daily conversations about VOR or FADEC with a non-aviation follower?
An incredibly fast paced, high-risk, precision-sensitive environment like aviation is massively dependent on straightforward communication to which jargon plays a major role in.
