1. Your consultancy company is
called ‘You Say Tomato’. How do
you say ‘tomato’?
Because my first language variety
is American English, I say tomato
as ‘to-may-to’ (IPA: /təˈmeɪtoʊ/),
though I’m getting more
proficient at saying the British
English variety, ‘to-mah-to’ (IPA:
/təˈmɑːtoʊ/).
What does your consultancy
company offer?
We use techniques from
anthropology and linguistics to
deliver to clients best practice
recommendations, train-the-
trainer courses, and incident
report analysis, among other
services. We also offer a course
called Twitter for Professionals,
which gives tips on how to use
language on Twitter to project a
professional identity.
What kinds of language are you
presented with and how do you
analyse them?
I frequently work with
written discourse, especially
incident reports submitted
to organisations. My latest
project involves pilot/air traffic
controller communication,
which is highly regulated,
regimented, and formulaic.
This work involves how
miscommunication between
pilots and controllers happens
and how language proficiency
plays a part, and involves both
written and spoken (recorded)
discourse.
I use qualitative methods
that incorporate contextual
factors into the analysis. One
helpful tool was developed by
linguist and anthropologist Dell
Hymes, and is often called the
SPEAKING grid. Each letter
represents an influence on
communication:
• S: Setting (where the
communication happens).
• P: Participants (who is talking,
listening, or eavesdropping).
• E: Ends (what participants
want to get out of the
communication).
• A: Act Sequence (the order in
which things are written or
said).
• K: Key (the manner or tone in
which things are written or
said).
• I: Instrumentalities (what
means and varieties are used
to communicate, e.g. tannoy,
newspaper; written, shouted).
• N: Norms (of interaction,
interpretation,
communication).
• G: Genre (what form the
communication takes, e.g.
poem, announcement,
lecture, incident report).
THE
PROFESSIONALS
MEET
Barbara Clark
Linguistic
anthropologist
& safety and
communications
consultant
Barbara Clark
Babel The Language Magazine | November 201546
Meet the professionals

2. Why is the aviation industry of
particular interest to you?
I’m fascinated by aviation,
having worked in it for ten years.
It’s a dynamic industry that
touches on many things that
are of theoretical and practical
interest to me, including
culture, hierarchy, power,
gender, institutional authority,
intercultural communication,
and safety. There is always
something happening that we
can learn from.
Why is language use in aviation
so important?
Communication, including
language use, is crucial in
aviation, particularly with respect
to safety. In emergency and time-
critical situations, it’s imperative
that pilots, controllers, and
cabin crew have a minimum
level of proficiency in English,
have the ability to speak and
interact with each other, and
to understand and respond
to safety-related instructions.
Mechanics and aircraft
technicians also need to read,
speak, and understand English
with respect to maintenance
handbooks, instructions, and
communications related to the
safe maintenance of aircraft.
Are there any applications of
your work beyond the aviation
industry?
Absolutely. The closest parallel
industry is medicine, which
has similar safety-critical
communications standards and
expectations. Medicine also
has similar gender-stereotyped
occupational histories and
expectations, professional
hierarchies, international
minimum language proficiency
standards and challenges, and a
rich and vast array of contexts in
which language is used.
Other safety-critical industries
where my work can be applied,
and where You Say Tomato is
gradually expanding, are oil and
gas, nuclear, rail transportation,
and ‘uniform’ organisations, such
as police and military.
What did you study to get where
you are?
I have an undergraduate degree
in Anthropology from Wayne
State University in the US,
which helped to start me on the
path to where I am now. In the
US, linguistic anthropology is
included in anthropology degree
coursework, and two modules
were particularly informative:
Language and Society, and
Language and Gender. I learned
that I wasn’t alone in being
fascinated by how people use
language in daily life!
After leaving university, I was
away from academia for 13
years, during which time I
would often refer back to what
I learned, especially the idea
of understanding language in
context. I sometimes think of my
time in aviation as a decade of
participant observation.
When I decided to leave front-
line aviation work, I waivered
between getting a law degree
(my initial plan when I was
studying anthropology) and
studying for a PhD. In the end,
because I had been fascinated
with language in context for over
a decade, I decided to do a PhD
in Linguistics, concentrating on
how cabin crew use language to
construct professional identity
and occupational community.
What gave you the idea to set up
the company?
My partner is a consultant, and
planted the seed when I was
starting my PhD. He was the one
who pinpointed that my practical
experience combined with
academic training could provide
unique services that would be
valuable to clients. Talking with
aviation industry professionals
confirmed his opinions.
How does a typical working day
go for you?
Each day is different. This variety
is a big benefit for me. I’d get
bored in a 9–5 routine, which is
why aviation was a big draw for
me as no two days are the same.¶
“In emergency and time-critical
situations, it’s imperative that pilots,
controllers, and cabin crew have
a minimum level of proficiency in
English, have the ability to speak
and interact with each other, and to
understand and respond to safety-
related instructions.”
Babel The Language Magazine | November 2015 47
Meet the professionals