Linguistic Awareness

Most humans use language readily and on most occasions successfully without much cognitive knowledge the nature of language. Because language is mostly unselfconsciously used to accomplish daily tasks, not much thought is given to the actual complexity of language. David McMillan, in his graduate thesis "Miscommunications in Air Traffic Control", points out that the ease with which we use language(s) to communicate in our daily lives and the usual lack serious consequences for miscommunication mask the fragility of human language as a vehicle for clear communications. The apparently simple use of language actually requires a sophisticated interaction of complex processes, and our usually successful daily experience with language belies its complexity. In daily life, miscommunication occurs but rarely results in anything other than minor inconvenience, minor embarrassment, or lost time. In air traffic control communications, however, the stakes are dramatically higher and communication errors have the potential for far more serious consequences.

GLOSSARY

to accomplish = executar

to belie = camuflar, ocultar

embarrassment = constrangimento

stakes = riscos

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