Spelling a for


Phonetic Alphabet (NATO) – BusinessBalls.com

The phonetic language - also known as the 'spelling alphabet' or the NATO phonetic alphabet - is used by professional communicators, especially police, military and other emergency and armed forces, to identify letters precisely, either when communicating initials, abbreviations or spellings of words.

The NATO phonetic spelling alphabet is a useful reference for language and communications study and training.

Different variations of the phonetic language exist - this is the original major standard and still most widely used.

The phonetic alphabet used for confirming spelling and words is quite different and far more complicated to the phonetic alphabet used to confirm pronunciation and word sounds , used by used by linguists, speech therapists, and language teachers, etc.

Commonly when used professionally in relaying abbreviations or letter codes, such as registrations, for example by the police, military, other emergency services or in air traffic control, the letters themselves are not given and only the corresponding words are stated, for example a registration or call-sign of GTW would be stated at simply as 'Golf Tango Whisky'.

In less formal use, for example by customer service telephone staff, communications tend to give the letters and to clarify each with the corresponding alphabet words, for example, 'G, Golf; T, Tango; W, Whisky', or alternatively, 'GTW, Golf Tango Whisky.'

Phonetic Spelling Alphabet

Used by communicators around the world to clarify letters and spellings.

  • A - Alpha
  • B - Bravo
  • C - Charlie
  • D - Delta
  • E - Echo
  • F - Foxtrot
  • G - Golf
  • H - Hotel
  • I - India
  • J - Juliet
  • K - Kilo
  • L - Lima
  • M - Mike
  • N - November
  • O - Oscar
  • P - Papa
  • Q - Quebec
  • R - Romeo
  • S - Sierra
  • T - Tango
  • U - Uniform
  • V - Victor
  • W - Whisky
  • X - X-ray
  • Y - Yankee
  • Z - Zulu

I repeat that other versions of phonetic spelling alphabets exist. The NATO alphabet above is the original and most widely used.

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.

Cockney alphabet

For amusement only. Not used by any important global standards organisations.

And certainly not recommended for use in confirming spellings, letters or words - it only confuses people.

Again there are different versions of this. Its origins are uncertain, most probably evolving organically in Cockney London in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

The alphabet is based on a child-like alphabet (A for Apple, etc), replacing the correct words to form puns. Typically the alphabet would be spoken or written with dropped first-letters wherever appropriate, as in 'ay for 'orses.

  • A for horses (hay for horses)
  • B for mutton (beef or mutton)
  • C for miles (see for miles, although 'Seaforth Highlanders', an old Sottish regiment, was an early popular alternative)
  • D for dumb (deaf or dumb - ironically a correct word for the letter D)
  • E for brick (heave a brick)
  • F for vescence (effervescence)
  • G for police (chief of police)
  • H for retirement (age for retirement)
  • I for an eye (eye for an eye)
  • J for oranges (Jaffa oranges)
  • K for restaurant (cafe or restaurant)
  • L for leather (hell for leather)
  • M for sis (emphasis)
  • N for lope (envelope)
  • O for the wings of a dove (a song)
  • P for relief (pee - urinate - for relief)
  • Q for a bus (queue for a bus)
  • R for bitter (half a bitter - beer)
  • S for you (as for you)
  • T for two (tea for two)
  • U for me (you for me)
  • V for la France (Vive la France)
  • W for a quid (double you a quid - a pound - a gambling term)
  • X for breakfast (eggs for breakfast)
  • Y for husband (wife or husband)
  • Z for breezes (zephyr breezes)

As I say, there are various versions of this.

Here are some variations:

  • C for Th' Highlanders (Seaforth Highlanders - an early Scottish military regiment)
  • D for mation (defamation)
  • I for a beautiful girl (eye for a beautiful girl)
  • M for plums (Emva plums)
  • N for mation (information)
  • P for a penny (pee for a penny)
  • Q for a pee (queue for a pee [to urinate])
  • R for mo (half a mo')
  • R for Askey (Arthur Askey, 1900-1982, popular diminutive bespectacled chirpy-chappy English comedian/actor/variety performer)
  • S for Costello (Esther Costello - a 1957 film)
  • S for Rantzen (Esther Rantzen, English TV presenter/journalist and chief founder/pioneer of the now globally replicated Childline charitable organization for young people)
  • Z for the sake of effect (said for the sake of effect)

If you have other memories (thanks M Baker and R Eve for above variations) - pre-1960s or more recent - please send them .


See also

  • acronyms - amusing, memorable clever - for teaching, training, public speaking, etc
  • grammar and language glossary
  • amusing and fascinating origins of words, expressions and cliches
  • money slang and money history (UK)
  • word-play puzzles and games for quizzes and exercises
  • Greek alphabet - surprisingly relevant to all sorts of things
  • cockney rhyming slang - amusing, and fascinating


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NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo Charlie, Delta...)

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  • Languages
  • NATO Phonetic Alphabet

The NATO phonetic alphabet is a Spelling Alphabet, a set of words used instead of letters in oral communication (i.e. over the phone or military radio). Each word ("code word") stands for its initial letter (alphabetical "symbol"). The 26 code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet are assigned to the 26 letters of the English alphabet in alphabetical order as follows:

Symbol Code Word Morse
Code
Phonic
(pronunciation)
A Alfa/Alpha ● ▬ AL FAH
B Bravo ▬ ● ● ● BRAH VOH
C Charlie ▬ ● ▬ ● CHAR LEE
D Delta ▬ ● ● DELL TAH
E Echo .● ECK OH
F Foxtrot ● ● ▬ ● FOKS TROT
G Golf ▬ ▬ ● GOLF
H Hotel ● ● ● ● HOH TELL
I India ● ● IN DEE AH
J Juliett ● ▬ ▬ ▬ JEW LEE ETT
K Kilo ▬ ● ▬ KEY LOH
L Lima ● ▬ ● ● LEE MAH
M Mike ▬ ▬ MIKE
N November ▬ ● NO VEMBER
O Oscar ▬ ▬ ▬ OSS CAH
P Papa ● ▬ ▬ ● PAH PAH
Q Quebec ▬ ▬ ● ▬ KEH BECK
R Romeo ● ▬ ● ROW ME OH
S Sierra ● ● ● SEE AIRRAH
T Tango TANG OH
U Uniform ● ● ▬ YOU NEE FORM
V Victor ● ● ● ▬ VIK TAH
W Whiskey ● ▬ ▬ WISS KEY
X X-ray ▬ ● ● ▬ ECKS RAY
Y Yankee ▬ ▬ ● ● YANG KEY
Z Zulu ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ZOO LOO

Notes

  • The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Phonetic Alphabet is currently officially denoted as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRSA) or the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) phonetic alphabet or ITU (International Telecommunication Union) phonetic alphabet. Thus this alphabet can be reffered as the ICAO/ITU/NATO Phonetic Alphabet or International Phonetic Alphabet..
  • This alphabet is used by the U.S. military and has also been adopted by the FAA (American Federal Aviation Administration), ANSI (American National Standards Institute), and ARRL (American Radio Relay League).
  • Contrary to what its name suggests, the NATO Phonetic Alphabet is not a phonetic alphabet. Phonetic alphabets are used to indicate, through symbols or codes, what a speech sound or letter sounds like. The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is instead a spelling alphabet (also known as telephone alphabet, radio alphabet, word-spelling alphabet, or voice procedure alphabet).
  • Spelling alphabets, such as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, consists of a set of words used to stand for alphabetical letters in oral communication. These are used to avoid misunderstanding due to difficult to spell words, different pronunciations or poor line communication.
  • A typical use of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet would be to spell out each letter in a word over the phone by saying, for example: "S as in Sierra" (or "S for Sierra"), "E as in Echo, Y as in Yankee, F as in Foxtrot, R as in Romeo, I as in India, E as in Echo, D as in Delta" to communicate the spelling of the name "Seyfried" correctly.

See Also:

  • English Alphabet

25 words, the writing of which confuses many

February 23, 2021Education

How to write complex words correctly and remain a literate person.

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You can listen to the article. If it's more convenient for you, turn on the podcast.

1. Traffic

In English, traffic is indeed spelled with a double consonant. However, when borrowing from a foreign language, the second letter is usually lost, which happened with the word “traffic”, so you should write it with only one “f”.

2.

Future

The word "future" often gets the letter "u" by analogy with the word "next". But it is easily disassembled into the root bud- and the suffix -usch-. There is simply no place for an additional sign. If spelling is difficult, you can try to remember through the synonym "future". Still, even those who doubt very much will not raise their hand to write “the coming one”.

3. Offline

The word “offline”, like “offshore”, “offside”, which are close to it, lost a double consonant when they were entered into dictionaries, which is typical for borrowings. At the same time, if the spelling “offline” can still be explained by confusion with the original language, then the version “offline” is puzzling: in English, the word is also written without a hyphen.

Check 🧐

  • TEST: Together, separate or hyphenated? Write 10 words without mistakes!

4. Rinses

If you're not talking to your washing machine, it's hard to imagine in what situation you might need the word "rinse". But just in case, it’s worth remembering that you need to correctly give out instructions with the word form “rinse”.

5. Producer

Probably, the extra "s" is formed by analogy with the word "director". But in both Russian and English, “producer” is written without doubled consonants.

6. Come

The word has gone through many transformations. In old books, it can be found in the versions "come" and "come". Yes, and the analogy with "go" is clearly visible. However, in dictionaries it is fixed only in one form - "to come."

7. Grapefruit

No matter how much one would like to make "grapefruit" a full-fledged "fruit", this word is pronounced in the same way as in the language from which it was borrowed. Otherwise, the first part of the word would have to be Russified, but “grape fruit” does not sound very attractive.

8. Blogger

For foreign words that extort a second consonant, there is a rule: if there is a single-root word, then you should use only one letter from the double ones. A blogger maintains a blog, so he is not allowed to use extra letters.

9. Hardly

According to Fasmer's etymological dictionary, the unchanging particle "hardly" comes from the word "row", it can be used as a test word. And the “li” particle is always written separately, so do not be lazy to press the spacebar.

10. Imagine

Frankly speaking, the word “imagination” does not exist in the overwhelming majority of dictionaries and literary Russian. But it has a certain semantic connotation and can look cute in colloquial speech. At the same time, one does not need to be a linguist to sob with bloody tears from the "vybrazhuli". So check "imagination" with the word "imagination" and spare other people's eyes.

11. Ice cream

If ice cream means a calorie bomb made from milk or cream, then one “n” should always be written in this word. This noun is formed from an imperfective verb, the letter in such cases is not doubled.

Fill in the letters 🎓

  • QUIZ:​ How good are you at spelling double consonants?

12.

Cappuccino

In the Italian language, from which the name coffee with milk foam comes, the word cappuccino was generously sprinkled with consonants. But in Russian, none of them is doubled. Therefore, you can nod understandingly when once again instead of cappuccino on the menu you will meet “cappuccino” or “cappuccino”.

13. Mosaic

Whether it's a picture of tightly packed pieces of glass or a children's puzzle, forget about bunnies and write correctly: mosaic.

14. Handwriting

The insidious "d" tries to fit in here, but it has no place in the word "handwriting". Because when you sit down to write a text by hand, you do not intend to emphasize anything, but rather to underline.

15. Bulletin

“Bulletin” is a dictionary word, so you have to memorize it. The fact that it came from the Latin bulla - “ball”, “seal” can help in this.

16. Legitimacy

There are many options for manipulating the word "legitimacy", but it's better not to do this and just remember how it is spelled.

17. Realtor

It is difficult to avoid confusion with the word realtor. Office programs do not underline it in red in any spelling, the “Russian Guild of Realtors” insists on the letter “e” in its name, and even the authors of dictionaries cannot come to a consensus. And yet, in the most authoritative Russian spelling dictionary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, edited by Lopatin, the form “realtor” is fixed, it is better to stick to it.

18. Registration

The check word “register” will help you find out which letter is hidden in place of an unstressed vowel and will prevent you from writing “registration” incorrectly.

19. Gynecologist

Gynecologist is not related to the word "gene", but is very closely related to the Greek "gyneka" - "woman".

20. Gastarbeiter

Remembering how the word "guest worker" is written is simple: in German gastarbeiter consists of two parts: gast - "guest" and arbeiter - "worker".

21.

Colander

Another word from the German language, where the letters tend to get mixed up. "Colander" comes from durchschlagen, which breaks down into durch - "through", "through" and schlagen - "hit". But if the etymology does not help to remember the correct order of the letters, you can go the associative way, especially since the word is so consonant with a popular curse word.

22. Calories

The word "calorie" was borrowed from French. Calorie entered the Russian language practically unchanged, there are no double consonants in it.

23. Vinaigrette

The name of the salad comes from the French vinaigre - "vinegar", and it - from the word vin - "wine". This makes it easier to remember how to properly describe the vegetable mixture. As for the second vowel in a word, it is enough to remember that it does not coincide with the first. Then you will write "vinaigrette" without a single mistake.

24. Shopping

In English, shopping is spelled with a double consonant, and many people want to transfer the two "p" and into Russian. Fight this desire and remember that there are words with the same root, for example, a shop tour. And if they use only one "p", then in "shopping" you do not need to double the consonant.

25. Terrorist attack

The abbreviation of the phrase “terrorist act” begs for a second consonant, but you should not negotiate with him. According to the rules for the formation of abbreviations, only one of the two consonants is written in them. Therefore, it is correct to write "terrorist attack".

What words do you stumble over? Write in the comments.

Read also 🧐

  • 12 borrowed words that are easy to make mistakes
  • 20 words that even literate people spell incorrectly
  • “From that” or “from that”? 19 words and combinations that are easy to misspell

Draw and write in Notes on iPad

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Draw or write on a note

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  1. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Lasso tool (located between the eraser and the ruler).

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