Phonetic alphabet

First of all the  content of this page is not a substitute for completing a RYA SRC Course or similar but has been designed to draw attention to the purpose of the phonetic alphabet, the background of it’s use and some specific detail.

Purpose

You will probably have noticed when in conversation non face to face (over the phone or, in the context of this site, over a radio) at some time you need to spell things out. Letter names can be unclear or hard to distinguish as some, such as F and S, B and D can be mixed up.

 

There are a specific set of words corresponding to each letter to assist in making a distinction between them.

In resect of the mariner, the ability to make communication as clear as possible could be the difference between life and death in a ‘Mayday’ situation.

Background

The system was initially developed by the Civil Aviation Organisation in the 1950’s. The letters were chosen based on hundreds of thousands of tests involving 31 nationalities in the desire to obtain understandability. In conclusion, no matter the accent, the probability of understanding is heightened. 

There had been previous incarnations of the phonetic alphabet but today this is the more favoured and universally recognised.

Detail

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.

U - Uniform.

V - Victor.

W - Whiskey.

X - X-ray.

Y - Yankee.

Z - Zulu.

As you work through this you will note how difficult it is to make any comparison between any of the words offering much greater clarity on what you intend to spell.

The intention of this item is to give an initial insight into this universally accepted coding. For those new to it please research further or even enrol on a course as there are far more behaviours to be aware of (i.e. pronunciation) and more information (numbers and symbols) to obtain.