#Phonetic spelling alphabet password#

What is credited with being the first spelling alphabet adopted and used internationally was developed by the predecessor of the International Telecommunication Union in 1927 and further revised in 1932. It was only after it was adopted by NATO that its association with the ICAO drifted into relative obscurity.īut despite being arguably the most famous and most used spelling alphabet, the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie system isn't the oldest, nor is it the only communications alphabet to have been used by military and international organizations. Instead, it was the International Civil Aviation Organization, an agency of the United Nations, that developed the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie alphabet in the 1950s in an attempt to standardize all the various letter-by-letter spelling systems in use around the world. And despite arguably being best known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, this isn't the work of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

And yes, Juliett really is spelled with two Ts here (for the benefit of French speakers who might otherwise consider it a silent letter).Īlthough this system is generally called a phonetic alphabet, strictly speaking it's nothing of the sort: Alpha (as English speakers generally spell it), Bravo, Charlie is a spelling alphabet, entirely different from the International Phonetic Alphabet that's used to transcribe the pronunciation of words. Notice anything unusual? Yes, in the official version of that alphabet it's alfa with an F, not alpha with a P (so as to avoid any confusion among non-English speakers who might not be aware that 'ph' should be pronounced 'f').

#Phonetic spelling alphabet password#

Each word (“code word”) stands for its initial letter (alphabetical “symbol”).If you have a tricky name that needs spelling out every now and then, or you ever need to clarify something like a password or an address over the phone, you might find yourself resorting to the NATO phonetic alphabet:Īlfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu The NATO phonetic alphabet is a Spelling Alphabet, a set of words used instead of letters in oral communication (i.e. It was originally developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization and subsequently adopted by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) among other significant global and national bodies covering telecommunications, maritime, and aviation. This can be used in conjunction with 10-codes. The last thing you would want when calling for backup is for the listener to misunderstand the address or the type of assistance required. All of which rhyme and without visual clues are sometimes indistinguishable to a remote listener.

Using this system eliminates the potential errors that can occur from the listener, not hearing/understanding what was said.įor example, if I was to say that my address was 221B Baker Street over the phone (or radio) did I say B or D or possibly E. It is also very helpful when trying to spell your name or address over the phone. The international phonetic alphabet (spelling alphabet), used in police, military, emergency services, aviation, and general communications.