4 ms·

In English "right" is one syllable and "starboard" is two. All things considered, using right/left is more concise. If you are aware enough of your orientation

In English "right" is one syllable and "starboard" is two. All things considered, using right/left is more concise. If you are aware enough of your orientation on a boat to know where port and starboard are located, you are also aware enough to know where left and right are located.

wpietri 4y ago
Concision is way less important than clarity.
- quenched 4y ago
  Eg if you're trying to shout over the wind.
  - int_19h 4y ago
    Although from the same perspective the phonetic similarity "port" and "board" is probably not ideal, either.
    - wpietri 4y ago
      In practice, and perhaps because of this, the pronunciation of "starboard" is heavy on the "star", with the latter part ending up more like "brd" or "b'd". Indeed, you can find the word written as "starb'd".
- anilakar 4y ago
  Clarity stems from brevity i.e. concise, carefully chosen words that leave no room for ambiguity.
  - wpietri 4y ago
    Clarity absolutely does not stem from brevity. Brevity is good, but it pushes toward ambiguity, not clarity. For example, consider spelling a word. The briefest approach is to say the names of letters. But these are similar, often differing only in one phoneme. E.g., P and B differentiating sounds are both bilabial plosives, differing only in whether they are voiced. But people for whom clarity is important will use something like the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. There, you'd say "papa" and "bravo". [1] It is much less brief, but much more clear. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet
    - anilakar 4y ago
      We might have a different view on what "brevity" means, then. The ITU/NATO alphabet you mentioned is a prime example of brevity. Other examples include those used by air traffic control and fighter pilots.
hooverd 4y ago
I'd bet port and starboard are easier to communicate unambiguously than left and right. Absolute positioning, one syllable vs two, different ending sounds vs both ending a "tuh" sound.
CardenB 4y ago
You spend much at least one more syllable to indicate which frame of reference (local or boat). It’s easier to map it to a vocab word.
eternityforest 4y ago
The different number of syllables are like a checksum. Plus, that's not how brains work. Using a word for different things that change depending on context is like reusing a variable, with a compiler that randomizes global and local scope. In aviation they watch out for "Regression to prior learning", in the kitchen I watch out for putting something in the microwave instead of the fridge because the action is similar. If you ask me which way is left, I'll have to stop and think not only about what left and right even mean, probably looking at my hand to see what makes the L shape, but I'll have to wonder who's left you're referring to, in addition to performing a mental rotation, an extremely error prone operation that I basically avoid at all costs, if my heading is not the same as the ships. Any small about of simplification or added reliability there is a good thing. Especially in historical context. Assuming the port and starboard were not mostly symmetric and had features specific to docking and steering, you're actually referring to something specific, not an abstract direction. These conventions are designed for the 95%, not the 5% or 75% or whatever who can instantly tell which way is left relative to any given orientation without any effort.
- seabass-labrax 4y ago
  > ...in the kitchen I watch out for putting something in the microwave instead of the fridge because the action is similar A familiar experience... I have to catch myself when I start to throw the spoon into the bin and the teabag into the dishwasher!

wpietri 4y ago

Concision is way less important than clarity.

quenched 4y ago
Eg if you're trying to shout over the wind.
- int_19h 4y ago
  Although from the same perspective the phonetic similarity "port" and "board" is probably not ideal, either.
  - wpietri 4y ago
    In practice, and perhaps because of this, the pronunciation of "starboard" is heavy on the "star", with the latter part ending up more like "brd" or "b'd". Indeed, you can find the word written as "starb'd".
anilakar 4y ago
Clarity stems from brevity i.e. concise, carefully chosen words that leave no room for ambiguity.
- wpietri 4y ago
  Clarity absolutely does not stem from brevity. Brevity is good, but it pushes toward ambiguity, not clarity. For example, consider spelling a word. The briefest approach is to say the names of letters. But these are similar, often differing only in one phoneme. E.g., P and B differentiating sounds are both bilabial plosives, differing only in whether they are voiced. But people for whom clarity is important will use something like the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. There, you'd say "papa" and "bravo". [1] It is much less brief, but much more clear. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet
  - anilakar 4y ago
    We might have a different view on what "brevity" means, then. The ITU/NATO alphabet you mentioned is a prime example of brevity. Other examples include those used by air traffic control and fighter pilots.

hooverd 4y ago

I'd bet port and starboard are easier to communicate unambiguously than left and right. Absolute positioning, one syllable vs two, different ending sounds vs both ending a "tuh" sound.

CardenB 4y ago

You spend much at least one more syllable to indicate which frame of reference (local or boat). It’s easier to map it to a vocab word.

eternityforest 4y ago

The different number of syllables are like a checksum. Plus, that's not how brains work. Using a word for different things that change depending on context is like reusing a variable, with a compiler that randomizes global and local scope. In aviation they watch out for "Regression to prior learning", in the kitchen I watch out for putting something in the microwave instead of the fridge because the action is similar. If you ask me which way is left, I'll have to stop and think not only about what left and right even mean, probably looking at my hand to see what makes the L shape, but I'll have to wonder who's left you're referring to, in addition to performing a mental rotation, an extremely error prone operation that I basically avoid at all costs, if my heading is not the same as the ships. Any small about of simplification or added reliability there is a good thing. Especially in historical context. Assuming the port and starboard were not mostly symmetric and had features specific to docking and steering, you're actually referring to something specific, not an abstract direction. These conventions are designed for the 95%, not the 5% or 75% or whatever who can instantly tell which way is left relative to any given orientation without any effort.

seabass-labrax 4y ago
> ...in the kitchen I watch out for putting something in the microwave instead of the fridge because the action is similar A familiar experience... I have to catch myself when I start to throw the spoon into the bin and the teabag into the dishwasher!