China has 56 ethnic groups who among them speak 80 languages and dialects. Even the majority language, Mandarin, has eight dialects. Usually this multilingualism poses few problems, but it is presenting a major difficulty for China's air traffic controllers. The Civilian Aviation Administration said last week that the strong accents of some pilots are creating misunderstandings, and therefore dangers. The agency announced that in the future people applying for commercial flying licences must speak standard Mandarin. And existing pilots who are unable to lose their strong accents will be transferred to other jobs.
