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Newsgroups: sci.lang
Subject: Alpha Bravo phonetics: briefly
Date: 11 Feb 2007 17:14:46 -0000
Summary: brief version
Keywords: phonetic alphabets
Phonetic Alphabets (Alpha Bravo etc)
(brief version)
There is a widely known alphabet Alpha Bravo ... Yankee Zulu.
Such alphabets are variously known as phonetic alphabets,
radio alphabets, spelling alphabets and telephone alphabets.
I have a collection of alphabets for many languages. Here I
present a (very) brief selection and a pointer to the full
collection.
Brian Kelk
11 February 2007
That famous 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
(It is approved by various official bodies but note the
variant spellings Alfa Juliett Juliette Oskar Viktor.
It dates from about 1955 and is used in air traffic control,
amateur radio and many other circumstances.
One of its titles is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.)
An earlier alphabet (used by U.S. Navy up to 1954):
Able Baker Charlie Dog Easy Fox George How Item Jig King
Love Mike Nan Oboe Peter Queen Roger Sugar Tare Uncle Victor
William X-ray Yoke Zebra
French Post Office alphabet:
Anatole Berthe Ce'lestin De'sire' Euge`ne Franc,ois Gaston
Henri Irma Joseph Kle'ber Louis Marcel Nicolas Oscar Pierre
Quintal Raoul Suzanne The're`se Ursule Victor William Xavier
Yvonne Zoe'
E'mile (for e-acute)
A German alphabet (used by emergency services):
Anton Berta C"asar Dora Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Ida
Julius Kaufmann Ludwig Martha Nordpol Otto Paula Quelle
Richard Samuel Theodor Ulrich Viktor Wilhelm Xanthippe
Ypsilon Zacharias
"Arger Charlotte "Okonom Schule "Ubermut
Two Spanish alphabets:
Antonio Barcelona Carmen Chocolate Dolores Enrique Francia
Gerona Historia Ine's Jose' Kilo Lorenzo Llobregat Madrid
Navarra N~on~o Oviedo Pari's Querido Ramo'n Sa'bado
Tarragona Ulises Valencia Washington Xiquena Yegua Zaragoza
Amalia Beatriz Carmen Domingo Enrique Federico Guatemala
Honduras Ida Jose' Kilo Lima Llave Me'xico Nicaragua N~on~o
Olimpo Pablo Quito Rafael Santiago Teresa Uruguay Venezuela
Washington Xilo'fono Yucata'n Zorro
An Italian alphabet:
Ancona Bologna Como Domodossola Empoli Firenze Genova Hotel
Imola Jersey Kilo Livorno Milano Napoli Otranto Palermo
Quaderno Roma Savona Torino Udine Venezia Washington ics
York Zurigo
The full collection (and some further material) is available
on the Web at:
The full collection is also available at:
Brian Kelk
Cambridge
U.K.