Lexical features of maritime discourse (based on «Safety at sea» magazine)

• Чернышева Анна Сергеевна

  Anna S. Chernysheva. Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. Vladivostok. Russia

English language has been the main source of marine communication for more than
two centuries. Having received active development in XVIII–XIX centuries, by mid-1990s it has
become an acknowledged language of maritime sphere. Marine accidents analysis shows that about
eighty percent of collisions and catastrophes take place due to the lack of proper knowledge of Eng-
lish language. Nowadays huge attention is given to the cadets’ educational process at the maritime
colleges and universities and advanced courses for stuff. But linguistic researches in maritime sphere
contribute a lot in development of this professional area. The conception “maritime English” is more
common in linguistics though “maritime discourse” is not so actively investigated in modern periodi-
cals. This paper attempts to identify the peculiarities of lexical features in maritime discourse
namely: ways of translating maritime terminology, key components of professional lexis among dif-
ferent, allied with marine spheres and the use of abbreviations. Also this paper deals with such con-
ceptions as “maritime English” and “maritime discourse”. Linguistic analysis was based on one of
the leading magazines for seafarers «HIS Safety at sea». This periodical covers the wide range of is-
sues connected not only with navigation, but describes the latest technical equipment inventions, crew
safety, legal issues and ecological aspects.
Keywords: maritime discourse, types of translation, professional vocabulary, safety at sea,
«Safety at sea» magazine.