Abbreviations in Pilot English Translation

In aviation context, safety experts are constantly seeking to identify means of improving safety in order to reduce the already low accident rates[1]. A better understanding of aviation English features help pilots and aeronautical professionals obtain high language proficiency to meet the ICAO requirement, and thus guarantee aviation safety. As the development of aviation industry, abbreviations, as a component of vocabulary, are frequently appeared and used among aviation-related fields and professions. However, some problems occur, as to how to identify the actual meaning of abbreviation and translate the abbreviation precisely in aviation context. A literature review presents features of abbreviation in terms of structure, semantics and phonetic aspects. The purpose of this study is to identify the features of abbreviation used in aviation context, which in turn benefit pilot learners in terms of meeting English proficiency requirement of ICAO.