Vocabulary of aerospace industry from the perspective of regional variation of modern English

Abstract

This article deals with regional variation of the English language in terms of aerospace vocabulary. Space-related activities have grown significantly over the past several years. Commercialization of space activities in the space domain has also increased, as well as the development of innovative space technologies. Communication in the aerospace domain involves professionals from many countries the English language being used as the first, second or foreign language. In this regard, regional variation study of English aerospace vocabulary is relevant. The purpose of the study is to examine variations of aerospace vocabulary including technical and industry-specific terminology in British English and American English from the perspective of orthography, pronunciation, grammar and semantics. To carry out the research project the author used definitional, structural, statistical and semiotic methods. The semiotic approach used by the author is based on description and comparison of regionally-marked and regionally-neutral lexical items. The material assembled and studied for the purpose of the present paper includes representative fragments from the authoritative unilingual aviation dictionary. Definitional, comparative, statistical and semiotic methods allowed to conclude that aerospace vocabulary is largely regionally-neutral. Regionally-marked units were identified in orthography, pronunciation, grammar and semantics with regional differences in pronunciation taking the lead. The identified differences perform a semiotic function, as they indicate the regional affiliation (or regional preference) of the speaker and/or writer.

Keywords

• vocabulary
• terminology
• aerospace industry
• regional variation
• cross-regional semiotics
• british english
• american english