The European Transport Workers' Federation launches a new guide
The European Transport Workers' Federation has launched a new guide to 'River Speak', as the first phase of a plan to harmonise standards of training and certification in European inland navigation.
The 92-page booklet called River Speak contains over 200 basic commands and phrases that all boatman need.
'We urgently needed a universal language tool which would bridge the gap while the wider issues of globalisation on the inland navigation sector are dealt with,' explained Nick Bramley, Nautilus International senior national secretary for Switzerland, and president of the ETF Inland Waterways Section.
'Boatmen will be able to keep this guide onboard and have instant access to key phrases in the four most common languages -Dutch, German, French and English. They will instantly know how to ask questions like "Can I proceed" and understand the answer.'
This booklet is the first stage of an initiative supported by the EU to facilitate better movement of labour across Europe without the burden of being fluent in many European languages.
Source: Nautilus International
