The nato phonetic alphabet was developed in the 1950s to avoid the misunderstanding caused by poor radio acoustics where an s and an f for example are easily confused. The military alphabet, officially the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, consists of 26 code words. A new phonetic alphabet for those who dont like alpha, bravo, charlie, a mischievously misleading, ambiguous, phonetic alphabet using english homophones and given names a pref. They were designed to minimize the number of errors when spelling a series of letters during a radio transmission. In the 1920s, the international telecommunication union itu produced the first phonetic alphabet to be recognized internationally. This is the alphabet used by pilots, air traffic controllers, and the military, among others, to correctly issue instructions. The allied military phonetic spelling alphabets prescribe the words that are used to represent each letter of the alphabet, when spelling other words out loud, letterbyletter, and how the spelling words should be pronounced. Allied military phonetic spelling alphabets wikipedia. Useful for spelling words and names over the phone. Differences included alfa, bravo and able, baker for the first two letters. The nato phonetic spelling alphabet was first adopted on january 1, 1956, while the icao radiotelephony spelling alphabet was still undergoing final changes. The international civil aviation organization icao assigned codewords acrophonically to the letters of the. The military alphabet phonetic from alpha bravo charlie.
The standard phonetic alphabet for amateur radio comes. The international civil aviation organization created the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, tied to the english alphabet, to ensure that letters are properly pronounced and understood by air traffic controllers and pilots around the world, despite what languages are spoken. Aviation phonetic alphabet for clear radio identification. Whiskey x xray y yankee z zulu phonetic alphabet chart by. Flaghoist communication ships use flags as signals to send. The nato phonetic alphabet is a spelling alphabet, a set of words used instead of letters in oral communication i. Used in military, police and civiliant telecommunications and speechrecognition software spelling. The characters and pronunciations were first created. There are many reasons why the military uses the phonetic alphabet, including. The usa and nato versions had differences and the translation was provided as a convenience. Nato phonetic alphabet a alpha n november b bravo o oscar c charlie p papa d delta q quebec e echo r romeo f foxtrot s sierra g golf t tango h hotel u uniform i india v victor j juliet w whiskey k kilo x xray l lima y yankee m mike z zulu.
Nato phonetic alphabet alpha, bravo charlie, delta. Alpha bravo charlie delta echo foxtrot golf hotel india juliet kilo lima mike oscar papa quebec. Spokenphonetic alphabet this alphabet started in the military, but is now used throughout the english speaking world by pilots and teleoperators to work out which letter is being said when you are talking. Terms such as alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo, foxtrot and the like are a result of this system used to ensure accurate communication of language. 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. Letters such as d, t and v can sound alike during noisy conditions, whereas delta, tango and victor are more distinct. Check out readable to make your content and copy more engaging and support cheatography. The nato phonetic alphabet, also sometimes referred to as alpha bravo charlie is actually officially called the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. Alphabet a alphabet script alphabet symbols tattoo fonts alphabet sign language alphabet tatuagem em braille braille tattoo barcode tattoo 3d letters krousar thmey is a school for blind and deaf children so one way to show this is to use braille. Military benefits information for veterans and military families. Ive included some commonly misused phonetic alphabet alternatives to the real terms used in parenthesis. The system is most commonly called the nato phonetic alphabet. We hear it being used in war and actions movies, video games, and even in comic books and novels. They are not a phonetic alphabet in the sense in which that term is used in phonetics, i.
I printed this page, cut out the table containing the nato phonetic alphabet below, and taped it to the side of my computer monitor when i was a call center help desk technician. In the world of aviation, there is a different way of learning your abcs. Use phonetics especially for callsigns and names of people or places. Terms such as alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo, foxtrot and the like are a result of this system used to ensure accurate. Although the official version of this spelling alphabet was. Sep 03, 2016 visit alphabet list to view the chart or print a pdf. Stop full c charlie d delta 0 zero e echo 1 wun one f foxtrot 2 two g golf 3 tree three h hotel 4 fower four i india 5 fife five j juliet 6 six k kilo 7 seven l lima 8 ait eight m mike 9 niner nine n november o. Most of us know, or at least have heard of the military alphabet in some way. For clear communications under all conditions, we use a phonetic alphabet for spelling out critical information. It is officially the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, and also commonly known as the icao phonetic alphabet, with a variation officially known as the itu phonetic alphabet and figure code. Below you will find several resources on the military alphabet, including playable soundclips for each letter, a printable pdf chart, flash cards to help you practice at home, and a quiz to test your military alphabet knowledge. Each represents one letter of the english alphabet.
The term nato alphabet was adopted prior to the cold war as an alternative name for the icao phonetic alphabet, after it was used in a publication for the navies of all nato members. Nato phonetic alphabet cheat sheet by peterceeau download. Alpha bravo charlie delta echo foxtrot golf hotel india juliet kilo lima mike november oscar papa quebec romeo sierra tango uniform victor whisky xray yankee zulu use phonetics to spell words, which may be misunderstood or misspelled. It seems longer but actually speeds up the process because it reduces mistakes and prevents reading over and over. The nato phonetic alphabet was developed in the 1950s to avoid the misunderstanding caused by poor radio acoustics where an s and an f. Each word code word stands for its initial lette r alphabetical symbol. Yet many people are not aware that it was nato members who spearheaded efforts in the early 1950s to create a universal phonetic alphabet.
Alpha bravo charlie nato phonetic alphabet international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, i. A alpha n november b bravo o oscar c charlie p papa d delta q. The 26 code words in the nato phonetic alphabet are assigned to the 26 letters of the english alphabet in. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to us using the following contact form. However, it took several adaptations before the version used today came into effect. The nato phonetic alphabet is the most widely used radiotelephone spelling alphabet. Military alphabet alpha bravo charlie delta echo share 5. The icao alphabet as its called for short is used to avoid mistakes caused by letters and numbers that. Download pdf army alphabet nato phonetic alphabet chart. For instance, alpha means a, bravo means b, and so on. Nato phonetic alphabet quiz what is the word for v.
Instead of saying, a like alpha, simply say the phonetic word in place of the alphabet letter. The phonetic alphabet is not only used by the military, but also by pilots, air traffic controllers, and customer service agents within the airlines. Alpha bravo list phonetic alphabet a alpha b bravo. Alpha bravo charlie delta echo foxtrot golf hotel india juliet kilo lima mike november oscar papa quebec romeo sierra tango uniform victor whiskey xray yankee zulu. What is now known as the military alphabet or military phonetic alphabet was once known as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. Phonetic alphabet international police a alpha adam g. For example, if the vin number is 1j8gr48k67c687141, then say 1 juliet 8 golf romeo 4 8 kilo etc. The 26 code words in the nato phonetic alphabet are assigned to the 26 letters of the english alphabet. Military alphabet military alphabet for precise military. Phonetic alphabet international police a alpha adam b bravo boy c charlie charles d delta david e echo edward f foxtrot frank g golf george h hotel henry i india ida j juliet john k kilo king l lima lincoln m mike mary n november nora o oscar ocean p papa paul q quebec queen r romeo robert s sierra sam t. Everything from alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, to zulu. Flaghoist communication ships use flags as signals to send out messages to each other.
The international civil aviation organization icao created code words that it connected to the letters of the english alphabet. Army alphabet charts to print in pdf format with phonetic. Pilots and those in the aviation profession learn a special type of alphabet. Pilot code aviation metal sign phonetic alphabet alpha bravo charlie. The alphabet is used by pilots and air traffic control when they are talking over the radio to ensure that voice communications are understandable. The military alphabet, also known as the nato phonetic alphabet, has been in use since 1927 as a way of effectively and clearly communicating critical information. Phonetic alphabet international police a alpha adam b bravo boy c charlie charles d delta david e echo edward f foxtrot frank g golf george h hotel henry i india ida j juliet john k kilo king l lima lincoln m mike mary n november nora o oscar ocean p papa paul q quebec queen. The nato phonetic alphabet is used worldwide in radio communications by militaries and civilians alike. Each word code word stands for its initial letter alphabetical symbol. Benet has been in the aviation industry more than 20 years and has written hundreds of articles about air travel. Stop full c charlie d delta 0 zero e echo 1 wun one f foxtrot 2 two g golf 3 tree three h hotel 4 fower four i india 5 fife five j juliet 6 six k kilo 7 seven l lima 8 ait eight m mike 9 niner nine n november o oscar p papa q quebec r romeo s sierra.
The phonetic alphabet, or spelling alphabet, replaces letters and numbers with code words. A unique feature of this alphabet is that it includes corresponding symbols for the morse code. For example if i wanted to say, adpte, which would be much clearer than i could say alpha, delta, papa, tango, echo alpha bravo charlie delta. Military alphabet, 9 x 12 inch metal sign with the american flag, military terms, acronyms, nato phonetic alphabet, patriotic and americana decor and gifts, made in the usa, rk1020hp 9x12 4. Alpha bravo charlie information, copy and paste charts and links.
A alpha n november b bravo o oscar c charlie p papa d. Aviation alphabet phonetic alphabet, coding, alphabet. Alpha bravo charlie delta echo foxtrot golf hotel india juliet kilo lima mike november oscar papa quebec romeo sierra tango uniform victor. Phonetic alphabet the nato alphabet became effective in 1956 and, a few years later, turned into the established universal phonetic alphabet for all military, civilian and amateur radio communications. Squawk squawk refers to an aircrafts transponder code, which can be either a standard code 1200 for visual flight rules vfr or a discrete code assigned by air traffic control. The nato phonetic alphabet became effective in 1956 and just a few years later became the established universal phonetic alphabet. The phonetic alphabet is also the standard in the military and policelaw enforcement. While they still get the point across, they arent the officially used terms and people that know their phonetic alphabet might correct you. The pronunciation for each letters phonetic word is contained in the parenthesis below it. Aug 21, 2018 the phonetic alphabet is also the standard in the military and policelaw enforcement. Nato phonetic alphabet military alphabet for precise. Feb 17, 2017 alphabet a alphabet script alphabet symbols tattoo fonts alphabet sign language alphabet tatuagem em braille braille tattoo barcode tattoo 3d letters krousar thmey is a school for blind and deaf children so one way to show this is to use braille. Squawk squawk refers to an aircrafts transponder code, which can be either a standard code 1200 for visual flight rules vfr or. Each atis recording has an alphanumeric designator to distinguish it from the previous message.