Exploring the Linguistic Features of Ship-Shore Communication: A Corpus-Based Multidimensional Analysis

Investigations into maritime disasters involving human factors reveal that approximately one-third of accidents stem from communication failures, largely due to inadequate proficiency in maritime English (ME). As an important aspect of ME, ship-shore communication (SSC) is a contributory factor to the safety in the vessel traffic service ( VTS) areas. While SSC instruction and learning have garnered growing attention from marine stakeholders worldwide, its specific linguistic features remain underexamined. Grounded in the multidimensional (MD) analysis framework proposed by Biber (1988), this study conducts a corpus-based comparative analysis of SSC and casual conversational English (CE) to identify how SSC varies from CE in terms of linguistic features and communicative functions. The results demonstrate that, compared to CE , SSC is characterized by greater information density, non-narrative concerns, and context independence. It tends to be less abstract and formal, less explicit in expressing viewpoints, and is produced under time constraint s. Several pedagogical implications are proposed to enhance SSC instruction and improve effective communication in this high-stakes context. Key words ship-shore communication, vessel traffic service, multidimensional analysis , Maritime English, linguistic features, corpus linguistics. * Corresponding address: Wen Zhao, School of International Studies, Civil Aviation University of China, No. 2898, Jinbei Road, Dongli District, Tianjin, China. WEN ZHAO Vol. 14(1)(2026): 65-88