The NATO phonetic alphabet is a common name for the radiotelephony spelling alphabet of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which assigned words to the letters of the English alphabet so that critical combinations of letters could be pronounced and understood by aircrew and air traffic controllers regardless of their native language. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have similar versions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ... The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an international organization established to standardize and regulate international radio and telecommunications. ... The Federal Aviation Administration is the entity of the United States government which regulates and oversees all aspects of aviation in the U.S. History The Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, is the cornerstone of the Federal Governments regulation of civil aviation. ... The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit standards organization that produces industrial standards in the United States. ...

Alphabet and pronunciation

FAA radiotelephony phonetic alphabet and Morse code chart. The FAA uses the ICAO phonetic alphabet.

Unless otherwise specified, the spelling and pronunciation given is that officially prescribed by the ICAO and adopted by the FAA and the ITU. The ICAO indicates unstressed numeric syllables in lower case (stressed in UPPER CASE), unlike its own alphabet, where stressed syllables are UNDERLINED UPPER CASE (unstressed in UPPER CASE). In the interests of uniformity, the FAA style of stressed syllables in BOLD will be used here (underlines might be confused with links). The ICAO states that the pronunciation of the words in the alphabet as well as numbers may vary according to the language habits of the speakers. In order to eliminate wide variations in pronunciation, posters illustrating the pronunciation desired are available from the ICAO. The Federal Aviation Administration is the entity of the United States government which regulates and oversees all aspects of aviation in the U.S. History The Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, is the cornerstone of the Federal Governments regulation of civil aviation. ... Morse code is a system of representing letters, numbers and punctuation marks by means of a code signal sent intermittently. ... This article is about the alphabet officially used in linguistics. ... The letter A is the first letter in the Latin alphabet. ... The letter B is the second letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... If you were looking for the C, C++, or C# programming languages then see C programming language, C Plus Plus, or C Sharp programming language C is the third letter of the Roman alphabet. ... The letter D is the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... The letter E is the fifth letter in the Latin alphabet. ... The letter F is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet. ... G is the seventh letter in the Roman alphabet. ... H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... I is the 9th letter in the Latin alphabet. ... J is the tenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... The eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet, K comes from the Greek Κ or κ (Kappa) developed from the Semitic Kap, symbol for an open hand. ... L is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... M is the thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... N is the fourteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... O is the fifteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... P is the 16th letter of the Latin alphabet. ... Q is the 17th letter of the Latin alphabet. ... R is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... S is the nineteenth letter in the modern Latin alphabet. ... T is the twentieth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... U is the twenty-first letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... V is the twenty-second letter in the modern Latin alphabet. ... W is the twenty-third letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... X is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... Y is the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... Z is the twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet. ... Zero redirects here. ... One redirects here. ... 2 (two) is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. ... 3 (three) is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4. ... This article discusses the number Four. ... 5 (five) is the natural number following 4 and preceding 6. ... 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. ... 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. ... 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. ... 9 (nine) is the natural number following 8 and preceding 10. ...

Wherever the agencies (ICAO, ITU, FAA, ANSI) differ, each agency's preferred pronunciations or spellings are also given in the table. The ICAO and ITU, but not the FAA, give an alternate pronunciation for a couple of letter-words. The FAA gives different spellings for their pronunciations depending on the publication consulted. These are from the FAA Flight Services manual (§ 14.1.5) and the ATC manual (§ 2-4-16). ANSI gives English spellings, but does not give pronunciations or numbers. The ITU numbers are quite different from all other versions (and no stress is given).

History and use

Despite its common name, the alphabet doesn't seem to appear in any official North Atlantic Treaty Organization publication. It may have received the name NATO phonetic alphabet because it has been adopted by the military of each of NATO's major countries, and is thus used by them when engaged in NATO exercises. NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949. ...

All of the words are recognizable by native English speakers because English must be used upon request for communication between an aircraft and a control tower whenever two nations are involved, regardless of their native languages. But it is only required internationally, not domestically, thus if both parties to a radio conversation are from the same country, then another phonetic alphabet of that nation's choice may be used.

The first internationally recognized alphabet was adopted by the ITU in 1927. The experience gained with that alphabet resulted in several changes being made in 1932 by the ITU. The resulting alphabet was adopted by the International Commission for Air Navigation, the predecessor of the ICAO, and was used in civil aviation until World War II. It continued to be used by the international maritime service, probably until 1959: Events January 7 - First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London January 9 - Military rebellion crushed in Lisbon January 14 - Paul Doumer elected president of France January 19 - Britain sends troops to China February 12 - First British troops lad on Shanghai February 14 - Earthquake in Yugoslavia - 700 dead February... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Amsterdam Baltimore Casablanca Denmark Edison Florida Gallipoli Havana Italia Jerusalem Kilogramme Liverpool Madagascar New_York Oslo Paris Quebec Roma Santiago Tripoli Upsala Valencia Washington Xanthippe Yokohama Zurich

During World War II, the requirements of joint Allied operations led to the development of the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet ("able baker"), although several RAF phonetic alphabets were also used. After the war, with many aircraft and ground personnel drawn from the allied armed forces, "able baker" continued to be used in civil aviation. But many sounds were unique to English, so an alternative "Ana Brazil" alphabet was used in Latin America. But the International Air Transport Association (IATA), recognizing the need for a single universal alphabet, presented a draft alphabet to the ICAO in 1947 which had sounds common to English, French, and Spanish. After further study and modification by each approving body, the revised alphabet was implemented November 1, 1951: The Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet is not a phonetic alphabet in the sense in which that term is used in phonetics, i. ... The RAF phonetic alphabet is not a phonetic alphabet in the sense in which that term is used in phonetics, i. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... The International Air Transport Association is an international trade organization of airlines headquarted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Global Metrics Human security Major Armed Conflicts: Total Deaths in Battle: 700,000 people Violent Deaths caused by Government (Other than War): Violent Deaths caused by other humans: Juvenile Violent Crime: Political security Nations Holding Multi-party Elections: Percentage Living under a Fully Democratic System of Governance: Free Countries: Percentage...

Alfa Bravo Coca Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliett Kilo Lima Metro Nectar Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Union Victor Whisky Extra Yankee Zulu

Immediately, problems were found with this list—some users felt they were so severe that they reverted to the old "able baker" alphabet. To identify the deficiencies of the new alphabet, testing was conducted among speakers from 31 nations, principally by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States. Confusion among words like Delta, Nectar, Victor, and Extra, or omission of other words under poor receiving conditions were the main problems. After much study, only five words representing the letters C, M, N, U, and X were replaced. The final version given in the table above was implemented on March 1, 1956, and was undoubtedly adopted shortly thereafter by the ITU, because it appears in the 1959 Radio Regulations as an established phonetic alphabet. Because the ITU governs all international radio communications, it was also adopted by all radio operators, whether military, civilian, or amateur (ARRL). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. ... The Radio Regulations is an intergovernmental treaty text of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Geneva based specialised agency of the United Nations which coordinates and standardises the operation of telecommunication networks and services and advances the development of communications technology. ... The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was founded in May 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim. ...

In the official international version of the alphabet, the non-English spellings Alfa and Juliett are found. Alfa is spelled with an f for the benefit of native Spanish speakers because they will pronounce ph as if it were a p with a silent h—the English word alpha is alfa in Spanish. Juliett is spelled with a tt for the benefit of native French speakers because they will treat a single t as silent—the English word Juliet is Juliette in French, but the ICAO did not adopt the final e because it might be misunderstood by native Spanish speakers as indicative of a final syllable tuh. In English versions of the alphabet, one or both may revert to their standard English spelling.

The alphabet is used to spell out parts of a message or call sign that are critical or otherwise hard to recognize during voice communication. For instance the message "proceed to map grid DH98" could be transmitted as "proceed to map grid Delta-Hotel-Niner-Eight" and a C-130 Hercules plane directly ahead might be described as a "Charlie One Three Zero in your twelve o'clock". Several letter codes and abbreviations using the phonetic alphabet have become well-known, such as Bravo Zulu (letter code BZ) for "well done", Checkpoint Charlie (Checkpoint C) in Berlin, and Zulu for Greenwich Mean Time or Coordinated Universal Time. In SWAT units Tango is used for terrorists, Sierra for a Sniper etc. Call sign can refer to different types of call signs: Airline call sign Aviator call sign Cosmonaut call sign Radio and television call signs Tactical call sign, also known as a tactical designator See also: International Callsign Allocations, Maritime Mobile Service Identity This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid... Bravo Zulu is a naval signal, conveyed by flaghoist or voice radio, meaning well done; it has also passed into the spoken and written vocabulary. ... Checkpoint Charlie (June 2003). ... Berlin (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004); down from 4. ... For alternate meanings of GMT, see GMT (disambiguation). ... UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, is an atomic realization of Universal Time or Greenwich mean time, the astronomical basis for civil time. ... This article is about the former region of Pakistan. ...

Variants

At some United States airports, the use of Delta for the letter D is avoided because it is also the callsign for Delta Air Lines. "Dixie" seems to be the most common substitute. Delta Air Lines ( NYSE: DAL) is a major U.S. airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operating a large domestic and international network that spans North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. ...

In British police work the use of India has been replaced by "Indigo". The British police are a group of similar but independent police services which operate in the United Kingdom. ...

Many unofficial phonetic alphabets are in use that are not based on a standard, but are based on words the transmitter can easily remember. Often, such ad-hoc phonetic alphabets are based on (mostly) men's names, such as Alan Bobby Charlie David Edward Frederick George Howard Isaac James Kevin Larry Michael Nicholas Oscar Peter Quincy Robert Stephen Trevor Ulysses Vincent William Xavier Yaakov Zebedee or on a mixture of names and other easily recognizable (and locally understandable) proper nouns such as U.S. states, local cities and towns, etc. A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ...

Older phonetic alphabets

In addition to the alphabets referred to above, numerous other phonetic alphabets have been used in the past.

• World War I western front trench slang: Ack Beer Charlie Don Edward Freddie Gee Harry Ink Johnnie King London Emma Nuts Oranges Pip Queen Robert Esses Toc Uncle Vic William X-ray Yorker Zebra
  This appears to be the origin of the RAF slang phrases such as ack emma for morning, pip emma for afternoon and ack-ack for anti-aircraft. Ack Emma was also used for 'Air Mechanic' in the Royal Flying Corps (1914-18).

• British Royal Navy during World War I: Apples Butter Charlie Duff Edward Freddy George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts Orange Pudding Queenie Robert Sugar Tommy Uncle Vinegar Willie Xerxes Yellow Zebra

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Royal Navy Ensign The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Phonetic alphabet in popular culture

The NATO phonetic alphabet is referred to repeatedly in Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Identity. The phrase Cain is for Charlie and Delta is for Cain is repeated, always italicised, to symbolise the messages relayed to the main character during the Vietnam war. Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 - March 12, 2001) was the author of 29 spy fiction novels. ... The Bourne Identity is a spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum about an amnesiac who must discover who he is and why several different groups, including an assassin and the CIA, are trying to kill him. ...

The nickname "Charlie" used by US servicemen in the Vietnam War is derived from "Victor Charlie", the NATO phoneticism of the initials of Viet Cong, the armed insurgents in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Vietnam War was a war fought roughly from 1957 to 1975 after the North Vietnamese government secretly agreed to begin involvement in South Vietnam. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... National motto: ??? Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809km² N/A population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...

The rock band Wilco's 2002 album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, includes recordings of a numbers station speaking these words, believed to be a transmission of an alphanumeric cipher using this phonetic alphabet. Wilco is an American contemporary rock band, predominantly known for its country music roots. ... Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a critically-acclaimed album by Wilco. ... Numbers stations are shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin that broadcast streams of numbers, words, or phonetic sounds. ... Generally speaking, the term alphanumeric refers to anything that consists of only letters and numbers. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ...

The name of sports car manufacturer Alfa Romeo is sometimes believed to represent the initials AR in this system, although this is not supported by the company's official history. Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ...

UTC (aka Greenwich Mean Time) is sometimes referred to as "Zulu" time, after the Z letter designation given to the GMT time zone. UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, the basis for civil time, differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. ... For alternate meanings of GMT, see GMT (disambiguation). ...

The call sign "Sierra Oscar" is frequently heard in the British TV serial The Bill. The Bill is a long-running British police drama shown on ITV1. ...

In the Simpsons episode "Separate Vocations", the license plate "EX-CON" was spelled in a parody of the phonetic alphabet as "Eggplant Xerxes Crybaby Overbite Narwhal". The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series in television history, with 16 seasons and 352 episodes since its debut on December 17, 1989 on the Fox Network. ...

References

• L.J. Rose, "Aviation's ABC: The development of the ICAO spelling alphabet", ICAO Bulletin 11/2 (1956) 12-14
• Aeronautical Telecommunications: Annex 10 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Volume II, Chapter 5
• International Telecommunication Union, "Appendix 16: Phonetic Alphabet and Figure Code", Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1959) 430-431

External links

• ICAO Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (pp A-6 & A-10) (http://www.icao.int/anb/panels/amcp/wg/C/wgc3/wgc3_wp7.doc) (an official source, but in Microsoft Word format (332KB), not HTML)
• ICAO Phonetics by the FAA (http://www.faa.gov/ATPubs/ATC/Chp2/atc0204.html#2-4-16)
• American National Standard T1.523-2001, Telecom Glossary 2000 (http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_phonetic_alphabet.html) (English version of alphabet)
• ICAO phonetic alphabet by Canada (http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/general/CCARCS/TP11957/Appendices/appendixa.htm)
• ITU Phonetic Alphabet and Figure Code (http://life.itu.ch/radioclub/rr/ap14.htm)
• Most comprehensive collection of phonetic alphabets (http://www.bckelk.uklinux.net/menu.html)