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Phonetic Alphabet – NATO

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Introduction to the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

The phonetic language – also known as the 'spelling alphabet' or the NATO phonetic alphabet—is used by professional communicators like the police, military and other emergency and armed forces. It is used to identify letters precisely when communicating initials, abbreviations or the spellings of words. Most laypeople will be familiar with it from trying to spell their name or address with a customer service worker. 

It was originally developed in the 1920s by the International Civil Aviation Organization and subsequently adopted by NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in 1956 among other significant global and national bodies covering telecommunications, maritime, and aviation.

The NATO phonetic alphabet is a useful reference for language and communications training and study. Different versions exist – however, this is the original major standard and still the most widely used.

The NATO phonetic alphabet used for confirming spelling and words should not be confused with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) used by linguist to confirm or analyse pronunciation and word sounds. The IPA is far more complicated, and as well as by linguists, is utilised by speech therapists, language teachers, etc.


Uses – Personal and Professional

When used professionally by the police, military, or other governmental organisations in relaying abbreviations or letter codes, such as registrations, only the corresponding words are stated. For example, a registration or call sign of GTW would be stated as "Golf Tango Whisky". 

In less formal use, for example by customer service telephone staff, communications tend to give the letters and clarify with each corresponding alphabet word e.g. ‘G, Golf; T, Tango; W, Whisky,’ or ‘GTW, Golf Tango Whisky.’ The name John would be communicated as 'J: Juliet, O: Oscar, H: Hotel, N: November' or just, 'John – Juliet, Oscar, Hotel, November'. If possible, request they confirm your spelling. 


NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Spelling Alphabet)

Used by communicators around the world to clarify letters and spellings. See the full alphabet below:

  • A - Alfa
  • 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

As mentioned earlier, there are other versions of the alphabet, but the NATO one above is the original and most widely used.


Pronunciations

The words were deliberately chosen to be clear, commonly used ones, and unambiguous in their pronunciation. However, many of them may still be unclear, especially to non-native English speakers. In the table below you can see some additional pronunciation guidance. 

Letter

NATO alphabet

Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Rough approximation

A

Alfa

ˈælfa

AL-fah

B

Bravo

ˈbraːˈvo

BRAH-voh

C

Charlie

ˈtʃɑːli

CHAR-lee

D

Delta

ˈdeltɑ

DELL-tah

E

Echo

ˈeko

ECK-oh

F

Foxtrot

ˈfɔkstrɔt

FOKS-trot

G

Gulf

ɡʌlf

golf

H

Hotel

hoːˈtel

ho-TELL

I

India

ˈindi.ɑ

IN-dee-ah

J

Juliett

ˈdʒuːli.ˈet

JEW-lee-ETT

K

Kilo

ˈkiːlo

KEY-loh

L

Lima

ˈliːmɑ

LEE-mah

M

Mike

mɑik

mike

N

November

noˈvembə

no-VEM-ber

O

Oscar

ˈɔskɑ

OSS-cah

P

Papa

pəˈpɑ

pah-PAH

Q

Quebec

keˈbek

keh-BECK

R

Romeo

ˈroːmi.o

ROW-me-oh

S

Sierra

siˈerɑ

see-AIR-rah

T

Tango

ˈtænɡo

TANG-go

U

Uniform

ˈjuːnifɔːm

YOU-nee-form

V

Victor

ˈviktɑ

VIK-tah

W

Whiskey

ˈwiski

WISS-key

X

X-Ray

ˈeksˈrei

ECKS-ray

Y

Yankee

ˈjænki

YANG-kee

Z

Zulu

ˈzuːluː

ZOO-luu


What do the words in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet mean?

You may now be wondering about the origins of each of the terms used in the NATO phonetic alphabet mean. We have compiled a list of all of them below:

  • Alfa – derived from Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet. That was itself probably derived from the Hebrew and Phoenician "aleph", perhaps meaning "ox". 
  • Bravo – a word of Italian origin meaning "great" in the context of an activity or "well-behaved", now used in English to express approval of something. 
  • Charlie – a given name derived from Charles, which is a name of French origin ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic. 
  • Delta – the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ, δ). Also refers to a geographical feature where a river deposits sediment in a triangular shape.
  • Echo – In English, this refers to a phenomenon where sound rebounds. The word derives from the name of a nymph in Greek mythology, who was cursed to only repeat the last thing said to her. 
  • Foxtrot – a ballroom dance from the early 20th century, though the name itself has unclear origins. 
  • Gulf – a geographical feature meaning an inlet of the sea (other definitions also exist). Examples include the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of Guinea. 
  • Hotel – a place with multiple staff-managed rooms for rent, often used by travellers. The word itself is derived from French. 
  • India – a country, the world's most populous, located in south Asia. The word is ultimately derived from a Sanskrit word for the River Indus, which passed into Latin via Greek. 
  • Juliett – a variation of the typically female given name Juliet, which comes from French and means "youthful" or "child of Jove (Jupiter)". Popularised by Shakespeare in English via his play Romeo and Juliet. 
  • Kilo – a prefix meaning the number 1000, derived from the Greek khilioi, meaning the same thing. Used in the metric system, above "centi" (100) and below "mega" (1,000,000). 
  • Lima – the capital of Peru, founded by conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535, possibly derived from the Spanish for "file". 
  • Mike – a shortening of the typically male given name Michael, which is of Hebrew origin and means something akin to "who is like God". 
  • November – the 11th month of the calendar year in English, but derived from the Latin "novem" meaning ninth, as there were formerly two fewer months in the Roman calendar. 
  • Oscar – a typically male given name which may have its roots in both English and Irish (and developed independently). 
  • Papa – a casual term meaning "father", ultimately derived from Greek "papas". 
  • Romeo – a name of Italian origin ultimately derived from "citizen of Rome". Also popularised in English by Shakespeare. 
  • Sierra – a Spanish term meaning "mountains" or "mountain range". Examples include the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre.
  • Tango – a lively two-person dance that originated in Argentina (and possibly also Uruguay) in the late 19th century. 
  • Uniform – a set outfit one wears for a certain event or function. E.g. a school uniform for pupils, or a work uniform. From French "uniforme" meaning "of one shape". 
  • Victor – a typically-masculine name of French and Latin origin, ultimately derived from the Latin word meaning "to conquer". 
  • Whiskey – a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. "Whiskey" is the traditional Irish or American spelling (in Scotland it is spelt "whisky"). Originally derived from the Old Gaelic word "uisce" meaning "water". 
  • X-Ray – a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895, though he actually named it "x-radiation", the "x" meaning something unknown. Commonly used in medical imaging as it can penetrate soft tissues. 
  • Yankee – this term traditionally referred to inhabitants of northeastern US states, or any soldier in the federal army during the US Civil War. Used by many populations outside of the USA to mean any US citizen. May come from Janke, a Dutch name and diminutive of Jan. 
  • Zulu – a people from southern Africa, within the Nguni cultural-linguistic sphere, and also the Zulu language. The highest population of Zulus is in South Africa itself.



Appendix: the 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)

Other variations include:

  • 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)




See also


Next: Accents and Diacritical Marks
Latin Terms and Phrases Glossary
Accents and Diacritical Marks