Earlier crews brought regional languages and dialects aboard ship, so a shared command language could not be taken for granted. Cornish provides an example of speech used by people whose English could be limited. Some petty officers were selected because they could speak English and communicate with sailors using regional speech. Their language skills helped keep a mixed crew working together. The navy's continuing operations and written instructions are presented as influences on a common working English between officers and ordinary sailors.
Notable Point · 1:02:41-1:03:52
Petty officers as a bridge between shipboard languages
Regional speech and bilingual petty officers explain why issuing an order required more than knowing naval command vocabulary.