AN ACR DC10 FREIGHTER FLC ON A VECTOR TO INTERCEPT AN ILS APCH GETS A CONFUSING CLRNC FROM A FOREIGN CTLR THAT THEY WERE NEVER ABLE TO COMPLETELY CLARIFY. THEY INTERCEPTED THE LOCALIZER AND COMPLETED THE ILS APCH WITHOUT FURTHER DIFFICULTY.

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WE DIVERTED TO SAO PAULO FROM CAMPINAS DUE TO BELOW MINIMUMS WX AT CAMPINAS. SAO PAULO APCH TOLD US 'VECTORS TO DESCENT CHARLIE 29R.' UNFORTUNATELY; THE ONLY APCH PLATE TO 9R ON THE ACFT WAS 'DESCENT CHARLIE 9.' I ASKED APCH IF THIS (C9) WAS CORRECT; AND THEY SAID NEGATIVE; CHARLIE 2. BY THIS TIME WE WERE INTERCEPTING LOCALIZER. GOT APCH TO SAY 'CLRED APCH' AND WE MADE A STRAIGHT IN (HURRIED) AND WERE CLRED TO LAND. AFTER RETURNING TO THE STATES; I FOUND A COPY OF CHARLIE 2; AND BELIEVE THAT APCH WAS EXPECTING US TO MAKE A REVERSAL MANEUVER. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR WAS THE CAPT ON A DC10-30 FREIGHTER ON A 45 DEG VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE LOCALIZER AT 4700 FT. THE CREW WAS SET TO INTERCEPT FROM THE N AND MAKE A STRAIGHT- IN APCH WHEN THE CTLR ASSIGNED A 'DESCENT CHARLIE 2' APCH. THE FLC ASKED ABOUT THIS CLRNC SEVERAL TIMES. THEY WERE REFERENCING THE FINAL APCH SEGMENT OF THE 'DESCENT CHARLIE 9' APCH AND ACCORDING TO THE RPTR; WERE ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT PORTION OF THE APCH FROM THE INTERCEPT POINT; JUST OUTSIDE THE OUTER MARKER; TO TOUCHDOWN OR GAR. AFTER SEVERAL INQUIRIES AND CONFUSING RESPONSES IN HEAVILY ACCENTED ENGLISH; THE CTLR ASKED IF THEY WERE ON NAVIGATION FREQUENCY OF 111.5 FOR THE ILS; WHICH THEY CONFIRMED. HE THEN SAID 'CLRED FOR THE APCH.' THE APCH WAS NORMAL AFTER THAT. THE CREW TALKED ABOUT THIS EVENT THE NEXT DAY A GREAT DEAL. THEY FOUND THE 'DESCENT CHARLIE 2' APCH; BUT DECIDED THAT THEIR RESPONSE WAS STILL THE SAFEST. THEY ALSO ADMITTED THAT THEY WERE ALL VERY TIRED AFTER THEIR LONG FLT AND SEVERAL MISSED APCHS AT THEIR ORIGINAL DESTINATION AND THEN FLYING TO THIS ALTERNATE. THIS FATIGUE MAY HAVE BEEN A FACTOR IN THE LANGUAGE AND PHRASEOLOGY CONFUSION; THE CAPT SAID.