Aspelling alphabet (also called by various other names) is a set of words used to represent the letters of an alphabetinoral communication, especially over a two-way radioortelephone. The words chosen to represent the letters sound sufficiently different from each other to clearly differentiate them. This avoids any confusion that could easily otherwise result from the names of letters that sound similar, except for some small difference easily missed or easily degraded by the imperfect sound quality of the apparatus. For example, in the Latin alphabet, the letters B, P, and D ("bee", "pee" and "dee") sound similar and could easily be confused, but the words "bravo", "papa" and "delta" sound completely different, making confusion unlikely.
Any suitable words can be used in the moment, making this form of communication easy even for people not trained on any particular standardized spelling alphabet. For example, it is common to hear a nonce form like "A as in 'apple', D as in 'dog', P as in 'paper'" over the telephone in customer support contexts. However, to gain the advantages of standardization in contexts involving trained persons, a standard version can be convened by an organization. Many (loosely or strictly) standardized spelling alphabets exist, mostly owing to historical siloization, where each organization simply created its own. International air travel created a need for a worldwide standard.
Today the most widely known spelling alphabet is the ICAO International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, also known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, which is used for Roman letters. Spelling alphabets also exist for Greek and for Russian.
Spelling alphabets are called by various names, according to context. These synonyms include spelling alphabet, word-spelling alphabet, voice procedure alphabet, radio alphabet, radiotelephony alphabet, telephone alphabet, and telephony alphabet. A spelling alphabet is also often called a phonetic alphabet, especially by amateur radio enthusiasts,[1] recreational sailors in the US and Australia,[2] and NATO military organizations,[3] despite this usage of the term producing a naming collision with the usage of the same phrase in phonetics to mean a notation used for phonetic transcriptionorphonetic spelling, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is used to indicate the sounds of human speech.
The names of the letters of the English alphabet are "a", "bee", "cee", "dee", "e", etc. These can be difficult to discriminate, particularly over a limited-bandwidth and noisy communications channel, hence the use in aviation and by armed services of unambiguous substitute names for use in electrical voice communication such as telephone and radio.
A large number of spelling alphabets have been developed over the past century, with the first ones being used to overcome problems with the early wired telephone networks, and the later ones being focused on wireless two-way radio (radiotelephony) links. Often, each communications company and each branch of each country's military developed its own spelling alphabet, with the result that one 1959 research effort documented a full 203 different spelling alphabets, comprising 1600 different words, leading the author of the report to ask:
Should an efficient American secretary, for example, know several alphabets—one for use on the telephone, another to talk to the telegraph operator, another to call the police, and still another for civil defense?[4]
Each word in the spelling alphabet typically replaces the name of the letter with which it starts (acrophony). It is used to spell out words when speaking to someone not able to see the speaker, or when the audio channel is not clear. The lack of high frequencies on standard telephones makes it hard to distinguish an 'F' from an 'S' for example. Also, the lack of visual cues during oral communication can cause confusion. For example, lips are closed at the start of saying the letter "B" but open at the beginning of the letter "D" making these otherwise similar-sounding letters more easily discriminated when looking at the speaker. Without these visual cues, such as during announcements of airline gate numbers "B1" and "D1" at an airport, "B" may be confused with "D" by the listener. Spelling out one's name, a password or a ticker symbol over the telephone are other scenarios where a spelling alphabet is useful.
British Army signallers began using a partial spelling alphabet in the late 19th century. Recorded in the 1898 "Signalling Instruction" issued by the War Office and followed by the 1904 Signalling Regulations[5] this system differentiated only the letters most frequently misunderstood: Ack (originally "Ak") Beer (or Bar) C D E F G H I J K L eMma N O Pip Q R eSses Toc U Vic W X Y Z. This alphabet was the origin of phrases such as "ack-ack" (A.A. for anti-aircraft), "pip-emma" for pm and Toc H for an ex-servicemen's association. It was developed on the Western Front of the First World War. The RAF developed their "telephony spelling alphabet", which was adopted by all three services and civil aviation in the UK from 1921.
It was later formally codified to provide a word for all 26 letters (see comparative tabulation of Western military alphabets).
For civilian users, in particular in the field of finance, alternative alphabets arose. Common personal names were a popular choice, and the First Name Alphabet came into common use.
Spelling alphabets are especially useful when speaking in a noisy environment when clarity and promptness of communication is essential, for example during two-way radio communication between an aircraft pilot and air traffic control, or in military operations. Whereas the names of many letters sound alike, the set of replacement words can be selected to be as distinct from each other as possible, to minimise the likelihood of ambiguity or mistaking one letter for another. For example, if a burst of static cuts off the start of an English-language utterance of the letter J, it may be mistaken for AorK. In the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet known as the ICAO (or NATO) phonetic alphabet, the sequence J–A–K would be pronounced Juliett–Alfa–Kilo. Some voice procedure standards require numbers to be spelled out digit by digit, so some spelling alphabets replace confusable digit names with more distinct alternatives; for example, the NATO alphabet has “niner” for 9 to distinguish it better from 5 (pronounced as “fife”) and the German word “nein”.
Although no radio or traditional telephone communications are involved in communicating flag signals among ships, the instructions for which flags to hoist are relayed by voice on each ship displaying flags, and whether this is done by shouting between decks, sound tubes, or sound-powered telephones, some of the same distortions that make a spelling alphabet for radiotelephony also make a spelling alphabet desirable for directing seamen in which flags to hoist. The first documented use of this were two different alphabets used by U.S. Navy circa 1908. By 1942, the U.S. Army's radiotelephony spelling alphabet was associated with the International Code of Signals (ICS) flags.[6]
c. 1942[6]
1969–present[9]
ICS flag
A
Actor
Ash
Argentine
Afirm
Alpha/Alfa
B
Baker
Back
Brussels
Baker
Bravo
C
Canteen
Chain
Canada
Cast
Charlie
D
Diver
Dog
Damascus
Dog
Delta
E
Eagle
Egg
Ecuador
Easy
Echo
F
Fisher
Fox
France
Fox
Foxtrot
G
Gangway
Gig
Greece
George
Golf
H
Halliard
Horse
Hanover
Hypo
Hotel
I
Insect
Ice
Italy
Int
India
J
Jockey
Jake
Japan
Jig
Juliett
K
Knapsack
King
Khartoum
King
Kilo
L
Lugger
Lash
Lima
Love
Lima
M
Musket
Mule
Madrid
Mike
Mike
N
Neptune
Net
Nancy
Negat
November
O
Oyster
Oak
Ostend
Option
Oscar
P
Pistol
Page
Paris
Prep
Papa
Q
Quadrant
Quail
Quebec
Queen
Quebec
R
Reefer
Raft
Rome
Roger
Romeo
S
Shipmate
Scout
Sardinia
Sail
Sierra
T
Topsail
Tide
Tokio
Tare
Tango
U
Unload
Use
Uruguay
Unit
Uniform
V
Vessel
Vast
Victoria
Victor
Victor
W
Windage
Winch
Washington
William
Whiskey
X
Xray
Xray
Xaintrie
Xray
X-ray
Y
Yeoman
Yacht
Yokohama
Yoke
Yankee
Z
Zebra
Zoo
Zanzibar
Zed
Zulu
While spelling alphabets today are mostly used over two-way radio voice circuits (radiotelephony), early on in telecommunications there were also telephone-specific spelling alphabets, which were developed to deal with the noisy conditions on long-distance circuits. Their development was loosely intertwined with radiotelephony spelling alphabets, but were developed by different organizations; for example, AT&T developed a spelling alphabet for its long-distance operators, another for its international operators; Western Union developed one for the public to use when dictating telegrams over the telephone;[10] and ITU-T developed a spelling alphabet for telephone networks, while ITU-R was involved in the development of radiotelephony spelling alphabets. Even though both of these groups were part of the same ITU, and thus part of the UN, their alphabets often differed from each other. Uniquely, the 1908 Tasmanian telegraph operator's code was designed to be memorized as follows:[11]
Englishmen Invariably Support High Authority Unless Vindictive.
The Managing Owners Never Destroy Bills.
Remarks When Loose Play Jangling. Fractious Galloping Zigzag Knights eXpeditely Capture Your Queen.
1908 Tasmania[11]
1910 Western Union[4]
1912 Western Union[4]
1914 British Post Office[13]
1917 AT&T[4]
c. 1917 AT&T Overseas[4]
1932 ITU-T IITS Article 40 (Code A; French)[13][14]
1932 ITU-T IITS Article 40 (Code B; English)[13][14]
1942 Western Union[4]
1947 International Telecommunications Convention
1958 International Telecommunications Convention
A
Ack
Authority
Adams
Apple
Alice
AMERICA
Adams
Adams
Amsterdam
Andrew
Adams
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
B
Beer
ab
Bills
Boston
Brother
Bertha
BENJAMIN
Boston
Boston
Baltimore
Benjamin
Boston
Baltimore
Baltimore
C
abc
Capture
Chicago
Charlie
Charles
CHARLIE
Chicago
Chicago
Casablanca
Charles
Chicago
Casablanca
Casablanca
D
bcd
Destroy
Dora
Denver
Dover
David
DAVID
Denver
Denver
Danemark
David
Denver
Danemark
Danemark
E
Englishmen
Edward
Eastern
Edward
EDWARD
Edward
Edward
Edison
Edward
Edward
Edison
Edison
F
def
Fractious
D-E-F
Frank
Father
Frank
FRANK
Frank
Frank
Florida
Frederick
Frank
Florida
Florida
G
Galloping
George
George
George
GEORGE
George
George
Gallipoli
George
George
Gallipoli
Gallipoli
H
fgh
High
Henry
Harry
Henry
HARRY
Henry
Henry
Havana
Harry
Henry
Havana
Havana
I
Invariably
Ireland (late 1912=Ida)
India
Ida
ISAAC
Ida
Ida
Italia
Isaac
Ida
Italia
Italia
J
Juggling
Jersey
Jack
James
JACK
John
John
Jérusalem
Jack
John
Jude
Jude
K
Knights
King
King
Kate
KING
King
King
Kilogramme
King
King
Kilogramme
Kilogramme
L
Loose
Lincoln
London
Louis
LONDON
Lincoln
Lincoln
Liverpool
Lucy
Lincoln
Liverpool
Liverpool
M
eMma
klm
Managing
Mary
Mother
Mary
MARY
Mary
Mary
Madagascar
Mary
Mary
Madagascar
Madagascar
N
lmn
Never
Newark
November
Nelly
?
New York
New York
New York
Nellie
New York
New York
New York
O
Owners
Ocean
October
Oliver
OLIVER
Ocean
Ocean
Oslo
Oliver
Ocean
Oslo
Oslo
P
Pip
nop
Play
Peter
Peter
Peter
PETER
Peter
Peter
Paris
Peter
Peter
Paris
Paris
Q
Queen
Queen
Queen
Quaker
QUEBEC
Queen
Queen
Québec
Queen
Queen
Quebec
Quebec
R
Remarks
Robert
Robert
Robert
ROBERT
Robert
Robert
Roma
Robert
Robert
Roma
Roma
S
eSses
qrs
Support
Sugar
Sugar
Samuel
SAMUEL?
Sugar
Sugar
Santiago
Samuel
Sugar
Santiago
Santiago
T
Toc
rst
The
Texas
Thomas
Thomas
Thomas
Thomas
Tripoli
Tommy
Thomas
Tripoli
Tripoli
U
Unless
Union
Uncle
Utah
?
Union
Union
Upsala
Uncle
Union
Upsala
Upsala
V
Vic
tuv
Vindictive
Violet
Victoria
Victor
VICTORY
Victor
Victor
Valencia
Victor
Victory
Valencia
Valencia
W
When
William
Wednesday
William
WILLIAM
William
William
Washington
William
William
Washington
Washington
X
vwx
eXpeditely
X-Ray
Xmas
X-Ray
?
X-Ray
X-ray
Xanthippe
Xray
X-ray
Xanthippe
Xanthippe
Y
wxy
Your
Yale
Yellow
Young
?
Young
Young
Yokohama
Yellow
Young
Yokohama
Yokohama
Z
xyz
Zigzag
X-Y-Z
Zero
Zebra
Zebra
?
Zero
Zero
Zürich
Zebra
Zero
Zurich
Zurich
0
Zero[Note 1]
Zero[Note 1]
1
One[Note 1]
One[Note 1]
2
Two[Note 1]
Two[Note 1]
3
Three[Note 1]
Three[Note 1]
4
Four[Note 1]
Four[Note 1]
5
Five[Note 1]
Five[Note 1]
6
Six[Note 1]
Six[Note 1]
7
Seven[Note 1]
Seven[Note 1]
8
Eight[Note 1]
Eight[Note 1]
9
Nine[Note 1]
Nine[Note 1]
,
Comma
Comma
/
Fraction bar
Fraction bar
.
Full stop (period)
Full stop (period)
InWorld War I battle lines were relatively static and forces were commonly linked by wired telephones. Signals could be weak on long wire runs and field telephone systems often used a single wire with earth return, which made them subject to inadvertent and deliberate interference. Spelling alphabets were introduced for wire telephony as well as on the newer radio voice equipment.[15]
1918 British Army[13]
A
Ack
Apples
Ack
B
Beer
Butter
Beer
C
Charlie
Cork
D
Don
Duff
Don
E
Edward
Eddy
F
Freddy
G
George
H
Harry
I
Ink
Ink
J
Johnnie
Jug
K
King
L
London
M
eMma
Monkey
eMma
N
Nuts
O
Orange
P
Pip
Pudding
Pip
Q
Queenie
Quad
R
Robert
S
eSses
Sugar
eSses
T
Toc
Tommy
Talk
U
Uncle
V
Vic
Vinegar
Vic
W
Willie
X
Xerxes
Y
Yellow
Z
Zebra
Commercial and international telephone and radiotelephone spelling alphabets.
1927 (Washington, D.C.) International Radiotelegraph Convention (CCIR)[16]
1930 ARRL List (same as 1918 Western Union)[4]
1930 Bokstaveringstabell Televerket[17]
1932 General Radiocommunication and Additional Regulations (CCIR/ICAN)[18][13]
1932 American Association of Railroads (same as 1918 Western Union)[4]
1938 (Cairo) International Radiocommunication Conference code words[20]
A
Able
Argentine
Amsterdam
Adams
Adam
Amsterdam
Adams
Able
Amsterdam
B
Boy
Brussels
Baltimore
Boston
Bertil
Baltimore
Boston
Boy
Baltimore
C
Cast
Canada
Canada
Chicago
Caesar
Casablanca
Chicago
Cast
Casablanca
D
Dock
Damascus
Denmark
Denver
David
Danemark
Denver
Dog
Danemark
E
Easy
Ecuador
Eddystone
Edward
Erik
Edison
Edward
Easy
Edison
F
Fox
France
Francisco
Frank
Filip
Florida
Frank
Fox
Florida
G
George
Greece
Gibraltar
George
Gustav
Gallipoli
George
George
Gallipoli
H
Have
Hanover
Hanover
Henry
Helge
(Harald prior 1960)
Havana
Henry
Have
Havana
I
Item
Italy
Italy
Ida
Ivar
Italia
Ida
Item
Italia
J
Jig
Japan
Jerusalem
John
Johan
Jérusalem
John
Jig
Jérusalem
K
King
Khartoum
Kimberley
King
Kalle
Kilogramme
King
King
Kilogramme
L
Love
Lima
Liverpool
Lincoln
Ludvig
Liverpool
Lincoln
Love
Liverpool
M
Mike
Madrid
Madagascar
Mary
Martin
Madagascar
Mary
Mike
Madagascar
N
Nan
Nancy
Neufchatel
New York
Nicklas
New York
New York
Nan
New-York
O
Oble
Ostend
Ontario
Ocean
Olof
Oslo
Ocean
Oboe
Oslo
P
Pup
Paris
Portugal
Peter
Petter
Paris
Peter
Pup
Paris
Q
Quack
Quebec
Quebec
Queen
Quintus
Québec
Queen
Quack
Québec
R
Rush
Rome
Rivoli
Robert
Rudolf
Roma
Robert
Rot
Roma
S
Sail
Sardinia
Santiago
Sugar
Sigurd
Santiago
Sugar
Sail
Santiago
T
Tare
Tokio
Tokio
Thomas
Tore
Tripoli
Thomas
Tare
Tripoli
U
Unit
Uruguay
Uruguay
Union
Urban
Upsala
Union
Unit
Upsala
V
Vice
Victoria
Victoria
Victor
Viktor
Valencia
Victor
Vice
Valencia
W
Watch
Washington
Washington
William
Willhelm
Washington
William
Watch
Washington
X
X-ray
Xaintrie
Xantippe
X-Ray
Xerxes
Xanthippe
X-ray
X-ray
Xanthippe
Y
Yoke
Yokohama
Yokohama
Young
Yngve
Yokohama
Young
Yoke
Yokohama
Z
Zed
Zanzibar
Zululand
Zero
Zäta
Zürich
Zero
Zed
Zurich
Å
Åke
Ä
Ärlig
Ö
Östen
Nolla
Zero
Ett
(Etta prior 1960)
One
Tvåa
Two
Trea
Three
Fyra
Four
Femma
Five
Sexa
Six
Sju
(Sjua prior 1960)
Seven
Åtta
Eight
Nia
Nine
The later NATO phonetic alphabet evolved from the procedures of several different Allied nations during World War II, including:
Allied military alphabet history
Symbol
Joint Army/Navy phonetic
alphabet
1914–1918 (World War I)
1924–1942
1943–1956
1927–1937
1941–1956
A
Apples
Ace
Able/Affirm
Afirm
Able
B
Butter
Beer
Baker
Baker
Baker
C
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Cast
Charlie
D
Duff
Don
Dog
Dog
Dog
E
Edward
Edward
Easy
Easy
Easy
F
Freddy
Freddie
Fox
Fox
Fox
G
George
George
George
George
George
H
Harry
Harry
How
Hypo
How
I
Ink
Ink
Item/Interrogatory
Int
Item
J
Johnnie
Johnnie
Jig/Johnny
Jig
Jig
K
King
King
King
King
King
L
London
London
Love
Love
Love
M
Monkey
Monkey
Mike
Mike
Mike
N
Nuts
Nuts
Nab/Negat
Negat
Nan
O
Orange
Orange
Oboe
Option
Oboe
P
Pudding
Pip
Peter/Prep
Prep
Peter
Q
Queenie
Queen
Queen
Quack
Queen
R
Robert
Robert
Roger
Roger
Roger
S
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Sail
Sugar
T
Tommy
Toc
Tare
Tare
Tare
U
Uncle
Uncle
Uncle
Uncle
Uncle
V
Vinegar
Vic
Victor
Vice
Victor
W
Willie
William
William
William
William
X
Xerxes
X-ray
X-ray
X-ray
X-ray
Y
Yellow
Yorker
Yoke
Yoke
Yoke
Z
Zebra
Zebra
Zebra
Zebra
Zebra
1949 ICAO[4]
1951 IATA code words
1957 American Association of Railroads (same as 1917 AT&T)[4]
1959 (Geneva) Administrative Radio Conference code words[22]
1969–present code words[whose?]
1969–present pronunciation[citation needed]
A
Adam
Amsterdam
Alfa
Alfa
Alice
Alfa
Alfa
AL FAH
B
Baker
Baltimore
Beta
Bravo
Bertha
Bravo
Bravo
BRAH VOH
C
Charlie
Casablanca
Coca
Coca
Charles
Charlie
Charlie
CHAR LEE
D
David
Danemark
Delta
Delta
David
Delta
Delta
DELL TAH
E
Edward
Edison
Echo
Echo
Edward
Echo
Echo
ECKOH
F
Frank
Florida
Foxtrot
Foxtrot
Frank
Foxtrot
Foxtrot
FOKS TROT
G
George
Gallipoli
Golf
Gold
George
Golf
Golf
GOLF
H
Henry
Havana
Hotel
Hotel
Henry
Hotel
Hotel
HOH TELL
I
Ida
Italia
India
India
Ida
India
India
IN DEE AH
J
John
Jerusalem
Julietta
Juliett
James
Juliett
Juliett
JEW LEE ETT
K
King
Kilogramme
Kilo
Kilo
Kate
Kilo
Kilo
KEY LOH
L
Lewis
Liverpool
Lima
Lima
Louis
Lima
Lima
LEE MAH
M
Mary
Madagascar
Metro
Metro
Mary
Mike
Mike
MIKE
N
Nancy
New York
Nectar
Nectar
Nelly
November
November
NOVEM BER
O
Otto
Oslo
Oscar
Oscar
Oliver
Oscar
Oscar
OSS CUR
P
Peter
Paris
Polka
Papa
Peter
Papa
Papa
PAH PAH
Q
Queen
Quebec
Quebec
Quebec
Quaker
Quebec
Quebec
KEH BECK
R
Robert
Roma
Romeo
Romeo
Robert
Romeo
Romeo
ROW ME OH
S
Susan
Santiago
Sierra
Sierra
Samuel
Sierra
Sierra
SEE AIR RAH
T
Thomas
Tripoli
Tango
Tango
Thomas
Tango
Tango
TANGGO
U
Union
Upsala
Union
Union
Utah
Uniform
Uniform
YOU NEE FORM or OO NEE FORM
V
Victor
Valencia
Victor
Victor
Victor
Victor
Victor
VIK TAH
W
William
Washington
Whiskey
Whiskey
William
Whiskey
Whiskey
WISS KEY
X
X-ray
Xanthippe
eXtra
eXtra
X-Ray
X-ray
X-ray
ECKS RAY
Y
Young
Yokohama
Yankey
Yankee
Young
Yankee
Yankee
YANG KEY
Z
Zebra
Zurich
Zebra
Zulu
Zebra
Zulu
Zulu
ZOO LOO
0
Zero[Note 1]
Zero[Note 1] (proposal A: ZE-RO; proposal B: ZERO)
Nadazero
NAH-DAH-ZAY-ROH
1
One[Note 1]
One[Note 1] (proposal A: WUN; proposal B: WUN)
Unaone
OO-NAH-WUN
2
Two[Note 1]
Two[Note 1] (proposal A: TOO; proposal B: BIS)
Bissotwo
BEES-SOH-TOO
3
Three[Note 1]
Three[Note 1] (proposal A: TREE; proposal B: TER)
Terrathree
TAY-RAH-TREE
4
Four[Note 1]
Four[Note 1] (proposal A: FOW-ER; proposal B: QUARTO)
Kartefour
KAR-TAY-FOWER
5
Five[Note 1]
Five[Note 1] (proposal A: FIFE; proposal B: PENTA)
Pantafive
PAN-TAH-FIVE
6
Six[Note 1]
Six[Note 1] (proposal A: SIX; proposal B: SAXO)
Soxisix
SOK-SEE-SIX
7
Seven[Note 1]
Seven[Note 1] (proposal A: SEV-EN; proposal B: SETTE)
Setteseven
SAY-TAY-SEVEN
8
Eight[Note 1]
Eight[Note 1] (proposal A: AIT; proposal B: OCTO)
Oktoeight
OK-TOH-AIT
9
Nine[Note 1]
Nine[Note 1] (proposal A: NIN-ER; proposal B: NONA)
Novenine
NO-VAY-NINER
,
Comma
Comma
/
Fraction bar
Fraction bar
Forward slash
Break signal
Break signal
.
Full stop (period)
Full stop (period)
Stop
STOP
.
Point (proposal A: DAY-SEE-MAL; proposal B: DECIMAL)
Decimal
DAY-SEE-MAL
Thousand
(Proposal A: TOUS-AND)
For the 1938 and 1947 alphabets, each transmission of figures is preceded and followed by the words "as a number" spoken twice.
The ITU adopted the International Maritime Organization's phonetic spelling alphabet in 1959,[23] and in 1969 specified that it be "for application in the maritime mobile service only".[24]
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were two international aviation radio spelling alphabets, the "Able Baker" was used by most Western countries, while the "Ana Brazil" alphabet was used by South American and Caribbean regions.[25][26]
Pronunciation was not defined prior to 1959. From 1959 to present, the underlined syllable of each code word[whose?] for the letters should be stressed, and from 1969 to present, each syllable of the code words for the digits should be equally stressed, with the exceptions of the unstressed second syllables of fower, seven, niner, hundred.
After WWII, the major work in producing a better spelling alphabet was conducted by the ICAO, which was subsequently adopted in modified form by the ITU and IMO. Its development is related to these various international conventions on radio, including:
The ICAO Radiotelephony Alphabet is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization for international aircraft communications.[36][37]
Symbol
1932 ITU/ICAN
1951 IATA
1956–Present ICAO
A
Amsterdam
Alfa
Alfa
B
Baltimore
Bravo
Bravo
C
Casablanca
Coca
Charlie
D
Denmark
Delta
Delta
E
Edison
Echo
Echo
F
Florida
Foxtrot
Foxtrot
G
Gallipoli
Golf
Golf
H
Havana
Hotel
Hotel
I
Italia
India
India
J
Jerusalem
Juliett
Juliett
K
Kilogramme
Kilo
Kilo
L
Liverpool
Lima
Lima
M
Madagascar
Mike
Mike
N
New York
November
November
O
Oslo
Oscar
Oscar
P
Paris
Papa
Papa
Q
Quebec
Quebec
Quebec
R
Roma
Romeo
Romeo
S
Santiago
Sierra
Sierra
T
Tripoli
Tango
Tango
U
Upsala
Uniform
Uniform
V
Valencia
Victor
Victor
W
Washington
Whiskey
Whisky
X
Xanthippe
X-ray
X-ray
Y
Yokohama
Yankee
Yankee
Z
Zurich
Zulu
Zulu
1
One (Wun)
2
Two
3
Tree
4
Fower
5
Fife
6
Six
7
Seven
8
Eight
9
Niner
0
Zero
-00
Hundred[38]
-,000
Tousand[38]
.
Decimal
Defined by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International.[39]
The APCO first suggested that its Procedure and Signals Committee work out a system for a "standard set of words representing the alphabet should be used by all stations" in its April 1940 newsletter.[40][41]
Note: The old APCO alphabet has wide usage among Public Safety agencies nationwide, even though APCO itself deprecated the alphabet in 1974, replacing it with the ICAO spelling alphabet. See https://www.apcointl.org and APCO radiotelephony spelling alphabet.
APCO Project 14 (1974)[43]
A
Adam
ALPHA
B
Boy
BRAVO
C
Charles
CHARLIE
D
David
DELTA
E
Edward
ECHO
F
Frank
FOXTROT
G
George
GOLF
H
Henry
HOTEL
I
Ida
INDIA
J
John
JULIETTE
K
King
KILO
L
Lincoln
LIMA
M
Mary
MIKE
N
Nora
NOVEMBER
O
Ocean
OSCAR
P
Paul
PAPA
Q
Queen
QUEBEC
R
Robert
ROMEO
S
Sam
SIERRA
T
Tom
TANGO
U
Union
UNIFORM
V
Victor
VICTOR
W
William
WHISKEY
X
X-ray
XRAY
Y
Young
YANKEE
Z
Zebra
ZULU
0
ZERO (with a strong Z and a short RO)
1
WUN (with a strong W and N)
2
TOO (with a strong and long OO)
3
TH-R-EE (with a slightly rolling R and long EE)
4
FO-WER (with a long O and strong W and final R
5
VIE-YIV (with a long I changing to short and strong Y and V)
6
SIKS (with a strong S and KS)
7
SEV-VEN (with a strong S and V and well-sounded VEN)
8
ATE (with a long A and strong T)
9
NI-YEN (with a strong N at the beginning, a long I and a well sounded YEN)
The FCC regulations for Amateur radio state that "Use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged" (47 C.F.R. § 97.119(b)(2)[44]), but does not state which set of words should be used. Officially the same as used by ICAO, but there are significant variations commonly used by stations participating in HF contests and DX (especially in international HF communications).[45][46]
The official ARRL alphabet changed over the years, sometimes to reflect the current norms, and sometimes by the force of law. In rules made effective beginning April 1, 1946, the FCC forbade using the names of cities, states, or countries in spelling alphabets.[47]
1946–1969 ARRL[47]
1970–present ARRL[48] (ICAO)
DX[49]
DX alternate[49]
A
Adams
Able
ADAM
Alpha
America
Amsterdam
B
Boston
Boy
BAKER
Bravo
Boston
Baltimore
C
Chicago
Cast
CHARLIE
Charlie
Canada
Chile
D
Denver
Dog
DAVID
Delta
Denmark
E
Edward
Easy
EDWARD
Echo
England
Egypt
F
Frank
Fox
FRANK
Foxtrot
France
Finland
G
George
George
GEORGE
Golf
Germany
Geneva
H
Henry
Have
HENRY
Hotel
Honolulu
Hawaii
I
Ida
Item
IDA
India
Italy
Italy
J
John
Jig
JOHN
Juliett
Japan
K
King
King
KING
Kilo
Kilowatt
Kentucky
L
Lincoln
Love
LEWIS
Lima
London
Luxembourg
M
Mary
Mike
MARY
Mike
Mexico
Montreal
N
New York
Nan
NANCY
November
Norway
Nicaragua
O
Ocean
Oboe
OTTO
Oscar
Ontario
Ocean
P
Peter
Pup
PETER
Papa
Pacific
Portugal
Q
Queen
Quack
QUEEN
Quebec
Quebec
Queen
R
Robert
Rot
ROBERT
Romeo
Radio
Romania
S
Sugar
Sail
SUSAN
Sierra
Santiago
Sweden
T
Thomas
Tare
THOMAS
Tango
Tokyo
Texas
U
Union
Unit
UNION
Uniform
United
Uruguay
V
Victor
Vice
VICTOR
Victor
Victoria
Venezuela
W
William
Watch
WILLIAM
Whiskey
Washington
X
X-Ray
X-ray
X-RAY
X-ray
X-Ray
Y
Young
Yoke
YOUNG
Yankee
Yokohama
Z
Zero
Zed
ZEBRA
Zulu
Zanzibar
Zulu
1
One
2
Two
3
Tree
4
Fower
5
Fife
6
Six
7
Seven
8
Eight
9
Niner
0
Zero
.
Stop
.
Decimal
Certain languages' standard alphabets have letters, or letters with diacritics (e.g., umlauts, rings, tildes), that do not exist in the English alphabet. If these letters have two-letter ASCII substitutes, the ICAO/ITU code words for the two letters are used.
InDanish and Norwegian the letters "æ", "ø" and "å" have their own code words. In Danish Ægir, Ødis and Åse represent the three letters,[50] while in Norwegian the three code words are Ægir, Ørnulf and Ågot for civilians and Ærlig, Østen and Åse for military personnel.[51]
Estonian has four special letters, õ, ä, ö and ü. Õnne represents õ, Ärni for ä, Ööbik for ö and Ülle for ü.[citation needed]
InFinnish there are special code words for the letters å, ä and ö. Åke is used to represent å, Äiti is used for ä and Öljy for ö. These code words are used only in national operations, the last remnants of the Finnish radio alphabet.[52]
InGerman, Alfa-Echo (ae) may be used for "ä", Oscar-Echo (oe) for "ö", Sierra-Sierra (ss) for "ß", and Uniform-Echo (ue) for "ü".
The Greek spelling alphabet is a spelling alphabet for the Greek language, i.e. a set of names used in lieu of alphabet letters for the purpose of spelling out words. It is used by the Greek armed and emergency services.
Malay (including Indonesian) represents the letter "L" with "London", since the word lima means "five" in this language.[53][54][55]
The Russian spelling alphabet is a spelling alphabet for the Russian version of the Cyrillic alphabet.
InSpanish the word ñoño ([ˈɲo.ɲo], 'dull') is used for ñ.[56][57]
Åke is used for "å" Ärlig for "ä" and Östen for "ö" in the Swedish spelling alphabet, though the two-letter substitutes aa, ae and oe respectively may be used in absence of the specific letters.[58][17]
Letters
French
German
Italian
Spanish
Portuguese
Finnish
Turkish[59]
Romanian[60]
Czech[61]
Yugoslav[62]
Serbian
Slovene[63]
(International)
(France)
(Belgium) [64]
(Switzerland)[64]
(Québec)[65]
(Germany, 2022)[66]
(Austria)[67]
(Germany, informal, 2022)[Note 2]
(Netherlands)
(Belgium)
(Brazil)
(Portugal)
Swedish
Danish
Norwegian
Alfa [sic]
Anatole
Arthur
Anna
Alice
Anton
Albert
Anna/Anton
Arthur
Ancona
Antonio
Amor
Aveiro
Adam
Anna
Anna
Aarne
Adana
Ana
Adam
Avala
Avala
Ankaran
-
Ringakzent Aachen
-
Åke
Åse
Åse
Åke
-
-
Umlaut Aachen
Ärger
Änderung
-
Ärlig
-
Äiti
-
-
Verbund Aachen Essen
-
Ægir
Ærlig
-
Bravo
Berthe
Bruxelles
Berthe
Berthe
Berta
Bernhard
Bern(h)ard
Brussel
Bologna
Burgos
Bandeira
Braga
Bertil
Bernhard
Bernhard
Bertta
Bolu
Barbu
Božena
Beograd
Beograd
Bled
Charlie
Célestin
César
Cécile
Charles
Cäsar
Cäsar
Cornelis
Carolina
Como
Carmen
Cobra
Coimbra
Caesar
Cecilie
Caesar
Celsius
Ceyhan
Constantin
Cyril
Cetinje
Cetinje
Celje
-
Hakenstrich Chemnitz
-
Çanakkale
-
-
-
Charlotte
Charlotte
-
Chocolate
-
Chrudim
-
-
Winkelakzent Chemnitz
-
Čeněk
Čačak
Čačak
Čatež
-
Aufwärtsakzent Chemnitz
-
Ćuprija
Ćuprija
-
Delta
Désiré
David
Daniel
David
Dora
David
Dirk
Desiré
Domodossola
David
Dado
Dafundo
David
David
David
Daavid
Denizli
Dumitru
David
Dubrovnik
Drina
Drava
-
džamija
Džep
-
-
Querstrich Düsseldorf
-
Đakovo
Đeravica
-
-
Ďáblice
-
Echo
Eugène
Émile
Émile
Édouard
Emil
Emil
Eduard
Emiel
Empoli
España
Estrela
Évora
Erik
Erik
Edith
Eemeli
Edirne
Elena
Emil
Evropa
Evropa
Evropa
Foxtrot
François
Frédéric
François
François
Friedrich
Friedrich
Ferdinand
Frederik
Firenze
Francia
Feira
Faro
Filip
Frederik
Fredrik
Faarao
Fatsa
Florea
František
Foča
Futog
Fala
Golf
Gaston
Gustave
Gustave
George
Gustav
Gustav
Gerard
Gustaaf
Genova
Granada
Goiaba
Guarda
Gustav
Georg
Gustav
Gideon
Giresun
Gheorghe
Gustav
Gorica
Golija
Gorica
-
Bogenakzent Goslar
-
Yumuşak G[Note 3]
-
Hotel
Henri
Heinrich
Heinrich
Hendrik
Hendrik
Hotel
Historia
Hotel
Horta
Helge
Hans
Harald
Heikki
Hatay
Haralambie
Helena
Hercegovina
Heroj
Hrastnik
India
Irma
Isidor
Ida
Isabelle
Ida
Ida
Izaak
Isidoor
Imola
Inés
Índio
Itália
Ivar
Ida
Ivar
Iivari
Isparta
Ion
Ivan
Istra
Igalo
Izola
-
Überpunkt Ingelheim
-
İzmir
-
Juliett [sic]
Joseph
Joseph
Jeanne
Jacques
Julius
Jakob
Johan/Jacob
/Julius
Jozef
Jolly,
Juventus
José
José
José
Johan
Johan
Johan
Jussi
Jandarma
Jean
Josef
Jadran
Jadran
Jadran
Kilo
Kléber
Kilogramme
Kilo
Kilo
Kaufmann / Konrad
Katharina
Karel
Kilogram
Kappa,[Note 3]
Kiwi
Kilo
Kiwi
Kodak
Kalle
Karen
Karin
Kalle
Kars
Kilogram
Karel
Kosovo
Kosovo
Kamnik
Lima
Louis
Léopold
Louise
Louis
Ludwig
Ludwig
Lodewijk/Leo
Leopold
Livorno
Lorenzo
Lua
Lisboa
Ludvig
Ludvig
Ludvig
Lauri
Lüleburgaz
Lazăr
Ludvik
Lika
Lovćen
Ljubljana
-
Llave
-
-
Ljubljana
Ljubovija
-
Mike
Marcel
Marie
Marie
Marie
Martha
Marie
Maria
Maria
Milano
Madrid
Maria
Maria
Martin
Mari
Martin
Matti
Muş
Maria
Marie
Mostar
Morava
Maribor
November
Nicolas
Napoléon
Nicolas
Nicolas
Nordpol
Nathan
Nico
Napoleon
Napoli
Navidad
Navio
Nazaré
Niklas
Nikolaj
Nils
Niilo
Niğde
Nicolae
Norbert
Niš
Niš
Nanos
-
Tilde Nürnberg
-
Ñoño
-
-
Njegoš
Njegoš
-
-
Nina
-
Oscar
Oscar
Oscar
Olga
Olivier
Otto
Otto
Otto
Oscar
Otranto
Oviedo
Ouro
Ovar
Olof
Odin
Olivia
Otto
Ordu
Olga
Oto (Otakar)
Osijek
Obilić
Ormož
-
Umlaut Offenbach
Ökonom / Österreich / Öse
Ökonom
-
Östen
-
Öljy
Ödemiş
-
-
Schräggestrichen Offenbach
-
Øresund
Østen
-
Papa
Pierre
Piano
Paul
Pierre
Paula
Paula
Pieter
Piano
Padova
París
Pipa
Porto
Petter
Peter
Petter
Paavo
Polatlı
Petre
Petr
Pirot
Pirot
Piran
Quebec
Quintal
Quiévrain
Quittance
Québec
Quelle
Quelle
Quirinus/Quinten
/Quotiënt
Quotiënt
Quadro
Queso
Quilombo
Queluz
Quintus
Quintus
Quintus
Kuu[Note 3]
-
Qu (Chiu)[Note 3]
Quido
kvadrat
Ku[Note 3]
Queen
Romeo
Raoul
Robert
Robert
Robert
Richard
Richard
Richard/Rudolf
Robert
Roma
Ramón
Raiz
Rossio
Rudolf
Rasmus
Rikard
Risto
Rize
Radu
Rudolf
Rijeka
Ruma
Ravne
-
Řehoř
-
Sierra
Suzanne
Simon
Suzanne
Samuel
Samuel / Siegfried
Samuel
Simon
Sofie
Savona
Sábado
Saci
Setúbal
Sigurd
Søren
Sigrid
Sakari
Sinop
Sandu
Svatopluk
Skopje
Sava
Soča
-
Hakenstrich Salzwedel
-
Şırnak
-
-
-
Schule
Schule
-
-
Eszett[Note 3]
Eszett[Note 3] / scharfes S
Eszett [Note 3]
-
-
Winkelakzent Salzwedel
-
Šimon
Šibenik
Šabac
Šmarje
Tango
Thérèse
Téléphone
Thérèse
Thomas
Theodor
Theodor
Theodor
Telefoon
Torino
Toledo
Tatu
Tavira
Tore
Theodor
Teodor
Tyyne
Tokat
Tudor
Tomáš
Tuzla
Timok
Triglav
-
Těšnov
-
Uniform
Ursule
Ursule
Ulysse
Ursule
Ulrich
Ulrich
Utrecht
Ursula
Udine
Ulises
Uva
Unidade
Urban
Ulla
Ulrik
Urho
Uşak
Udrea
Urban
Užice
Užice
Unec
-
Umlaut Unna
Übermut / Übel
Überfluss
-
Ünye
-
Victor
Victor
Viktor
Viktor
Victor
Victor
Verona,
Venezia
Valencia
Vitória
Vidago
Viktor
Viggo
Enkelt-V
Vihtori
Van
Vasile
Václav
Valjevo
Valjevo
Velenje
Whiskey
William
Waterloo
William
William
Wilhelm
Wilhelm
Willem
Waterloo
Whiskey,
Washington
Washington
Wilson
Waldemar
Wilhelm
William
Dobbelt-W[Note 3]
Wiski
-
dublu v[Note 3]
dvojité V[Note 3]
duplo ve[Note 3]
Duplo ve[Note 3]
Dvojni v[Note 3]
X-ray
Xavier
Xantippe
Xavier
Xavier
Xanthippe / Xaver
Xanthippe
Xant(h)ippe
Xavier
Ics,[Note 3] Xilofono
Xilófono
Xadrez
Xavier
Xerxes
Xerxes
Xerxes
Äksä[Note 3]
-
Xenia
Xaver
iks[Note 3]
Iks[Note 3]
Iks[Note 3]
Yankee
Yvonne
Ypsilon[Note 3]
Ypsilon[Note 3]
Ypsilon[Note 3]
Ypsilon[Note 3]
Yvonne
York,
yogurt
Yolanda
Yolanda
York
Yngve
Yrsa
Yngling
Yrjö
Yozgat
I grec[Note 3]
Ypsilon[Note 3]
ipsilon[Note 3]
Ipsilon[Note 3]
Ipsilon[Note 3]
-
Verbund Ingelheim Jena
-
IJmuiden/IJsbrand
-
Zulu
Zoé
Zéro
Zurich
Zoé
Zacharias / Zürich
Zacharias
Zaandam/Zacharias
Zola
Zara,
Zorro
Zaragoza
Zebra
Zulmira
Zäta[Note 3]
Zackarias
Zakarias
Tseta[Note 3]
Zonguldak
Zahăr
Zuzana
Zagreb
Zemun
Zalog
-
Winkelakzent Zwickau
-
Žofie
Žirovnica
Žabljak
Žalec
The PGP word list, the Bubble Babble wordlist used by ssh-keygen, and the S/KEY dictionary, are spelling alphabets for public key fingerprints (or other binary data) – a set of names given to data bytes for the purpose of spelling out binary data in a clear and unambiguous way via a voice channel.
Many unofficial spelling alphabets are in use that are not based on a standard, but are based on words the transmitter can remember easily, including first names, states, or cities. The LAPD phonetic alphabet has many first names. The German spelling alphabet ("Deutsches Funkalphabet" (literally "German Radio Alphabet")) also uses first names. Also, during the Vietnam war, soldiers used 'Cain' instead of 'Charlie' because 'Charlie' meant Viet Cong (Charlie being short for Victor Charlie, the International alphabet spelling of the initials VC).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)