UNIGEN - universal language of aviation

Area of Science:

• Aviation Safety
• Linguistics
• Human Factors in Aviation

Background:

• In 1978, flights from non-English speaking countries experienced a high average of 200 crash-deaths per million flights.
• English phonemes like "th" and "wh" have been identified as problematic for international aviation communication, as evidenced by incidents such as the Tenerife disaster.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a universal aviation language (UNIGEN) for enhanced air communication and safety.
• To investigate linguistic challenges in aviation and develop optimal phonetic expressions derived from global languages.

Main Methods:

• Formation of the Aerospace Linguistic Foundation to support research into aviation communication.
• Analysis of accident data to identify linguistic issues and their impact on flight safety.
• Exploration of phonetic properties for monitoring human factors like hyperventilation and sleep arousal.

Main Results:

• Identification of specific English phonemes as unsuitable for international aviation use.
• Proposal of UNIGEN as a solution to mitigate linguistic barriers in air traffic.
• Recognition of the need for concurrent auditory and visual communication methods to achieve high reliability.

Conclusions:

• A standardized, internationally comprehensible aviation language is crucial for reducing accidents.
• Phonetic selection in aviation communication can serve as a tool for monitoring pilot performance and well-being.
• Future aviation communication systems must integrate multi-sensory inputs for enhanced perception transfer and safety.