Tuesday, March 17, 2009

International Radio Operator Alphabet

If you work on the phone and must spell out names all the time, use the NATO, FAA and ICAO approved phonetic alphabet:
  • 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

As a bonus, it works in several languages and it saves the embarrassment of mistranslation when spelling out words: "A as in Ananas"
(Pineapple is a commonly mistranslated word. Aside from the Japanese パイナップル (Literally PA-I-NA-T-PU-RU), almost every other language uses a variation of Ananas, Nanas or sometimes Pina.)