Also called a spelling alphabet or a phonetic alphabet, (not to be confused with the entirely different International Phonetic Alphabet,) this is a system of assigning to each letter of the alphabet a word that begins with that letter. This way, if something has to be spelled over a radio, telephone, etc. there is much less chance of the wrong information being transmitted.
The military, police departments and radio operators all make frequent use of this. Phone-based customer service and technical support also use it, but with more informal construction (any word will do), for the same reasons. The most common alphabets are shown below, from A to Z.
Letter | NATO | Western Union |
---|---|---|
A | Alpha | Adams |
B | Bravo | Boston |
C | Charlie | Chicago |
D | Delta | Denver |
E | Echo | Easy |
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 | New York |
O | Oscar | Ocean |
P | Papa | Peter |
Q | Quebec | Queen |
R | Romeo | Roger |
S | Sierra | Sugar |
T | Tango | Thomas |
U | Uniform | Union |
V | Victor | Victor |
W | Whiskey | William |
X | X-ray | X-ray |
Y | Yankee | Young |
Z | Zulu | Zero |