A spelling alphabet, radio alphabet, or telephone alphabet is a set of words which are used to stand for the letters of an alphabet. 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, meaning there are no visual cues which assist the listener. Giving one's name over the telephone is a common scenario where a spelling alphabet is often used. Spelling alphabets are often called phonetic alphabets. These are not to be confused with phonetic transcription systems, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, which are designed to record detailed information about the sounds of human speech.
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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 A or K. In the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet known as the IACO or NATO phonetic alphabet, the sequence J-A-K would be pronounced Juliet-Alpha-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 and the German word "nein".
As early as the 19th century, British Army signallers used a partial spelling alphabet. First recorded in 1904[1] this system at first differentiated only letters most frequently misunderstood: Ack 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 Talbot House. It was developed on the Western Front of the First World War and later formally codified to provide a phonetic equivalent for all 26 letters (see comparative tabulation of military alphabets before 1956).
For the general populace, and finance professionals in particular, entries such as "November" for the letter N and "Kilo" for the letter K were considered too long or obscure, and an alternative alphabet arose. Common first names were a popular choice, and as a result the First Name Alphabet, first compiled by the financial firm JSC, has become quite commonly used.
The following examples are from various languages and time periods:[2][3].
| Letter | NATO & Aviation | US Financial | British Forces 1952 | RAF 1942–43 | LAPD | French | German (DIN 5009) | Dutch | Italian | Spanish | Swedish | Danish/Norwegian | Finnish | Turkish | Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | Adam | Able | Apple | Adam | Anatole | Anton | Anna | Ancona | Antonio | Adam | Alfa | Aarne | Aydın | Avião |
| B | Bravo | Bob | Baker | Beer | Boy | Berthe | Berta | Bernard | Bologna | Barcelona | Bertil | Bravo | Bertta | Bekir | Bola |
| C | Charlie | Carol | Charlie | Charlie | Charles | Célestin | Cäsar | Cornelis | Como | Carmen | Caesar | Charlie | Celsius | Cemal | Casa |
| Ch | - | - | - | - | - | - | Charlotte | - | - | Chocolate | - | - | - | - | - |
| D | Delta | David | Dog | Dog | David | Désiré | Dora | Dirk | Domodossola | Dolores | David | Delta | Daavid | Deniz | Dado |
| E | Echo | Eddie | Easy | Edward | Edward | Eugène | Emil | Eduard | Empoli | Enrique | Erik | Echo | Eemeli | Engin | Elefante |
| F | Foxtrot | Frank | Fox | Freddy | Frank | François | Friedrich | Ferdinand | Firenze | Francia | Filip | Foxtrot | Faarao | Fener | Faca |
| G | Golf | George | George | George | George | Gaston | Gustav | Gerard | Genova | Gerona | Gustav | Golf | Gideon | Gazi | Gato |
| H | Hotel | Harry | How | Harry | Henry | Henri | Heinrich | Hendrik | Hotel | Historia | Helge | Hotel | Heikki | Halat | Homem |
| I | India | Ike | Item | In | Ida | Irma | Ida | Izaak | Imola | Inés | Ivar | India | Iivari | İstif | Igreja |
| J | Juliet | Jim | Jig | Jug / Johnny | John | Joseph | Julius | Julius | I lunga[4] | José | Johan | Juliet | Jussi | Jale | Jacaré |
| K | Kilo | Kenny | King | King | King | Kléber | Kaufmann | Karel | Kappa | Kilo | Kalle | Kilo | Kalle | Kilo | Kilo |
| L | Lima | Larry | Love | Love | Lincoln | Louis | Ludwig | Lodewijk | Livorno | Lorenzo | Ludvig | Lima | Lauri | Liman | Laranja |
| Ll | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Llobregat | - | - | - | - | - |
| M | Mike | Mary | Mike | Mother | Mary | Marcel | Martha | Maria | Milano | Madrid | Martin | Mike | Matti | Merih | Maria |
| N | November | Nancy | Nan | Nuts | Nora | Nicolas | Nordpol | Nico | Napoli | Napoli | Niklas | Niklas | Niilo | Neptün | Navio |
| Ñ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ñoño | - | - | - | - | - |
| O | Oscar | Oliver | Oboe | Orange | Ocean | Oscar | Otto | Otto | Otranto | Oviedo | Olof | Oscar | Otto | Oruç | Ovo |
| P | Papa | Peter | Peter | Peter | Paul | Pierre | Paula | Pieter | Padova | París | Petter | Papa | Pekka | Pilot | Pato |
| Q | Quebec | Quincy | Queen | Queen | Queen | Quintal | Quelle | Quotiënt | Quadro | Querido | Quintus | Quebec | Kuu[4] | - | Queijo |
| R | Romeo | Roger | Roger | Roger / Robert | Robert | Raoul | Richard | Rudolf | Roma | Ramón | Rudolf | Romeo | Risto | Roket | Rato |
| S | Sierra | Sam | Sugar | Sugar | Sam | Suzanne | Samuel | Simon | Savona | Sábado | Sigurd | Sierra | Sakari | Süngü | Sapo |
| Sch | - | - | - | - | - | - | Schule | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ß | - | - | - | - | - | - | Eszett[4] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T | Tango | Thomas | Tare | Tommy | Tom | Thérèse | Theodor | Teunis | Torino | Tarragona | Tore | Tango | Tyyne | Türk | Tatu |
| U | Uniform | Uncle | Uncle | Uncle | Union | Ursule | Ulrich | Utrecht | Udine | Ulises | Urban | Uniform | Urho | Ulu | Uva |
| Ü | - | - | - | - | - | - | Übermut | - | - | - | Übel | - | - | - | - |
| V | Victor | Vincent | Victor | Vic | Victor | Victor | Viktor | Victor | Venezia | Valencia | Viktor | Victor | Vihtori | Vatan | Vaca |
| W | Whiskey | William | William | William | William | William | Wilhelm | Willem | Washington | Washington | Wilhelm | Whiskey | Wiski | - | Whisky |
| X | X-ray | Xavier | X-ray | X-ray | X-ray | Xavier | Xanthippe | Xanthippe | Ics[4], Xeres | Xiquena | Xerxes | X-ray | Äksä[4] | - | Xícara |
| IJ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | IJmuiden | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | Yankee | Yogi | Yoke | Yoke / Yorker | Young | Yvonne | Ypsilon[4] | Ypsilon[4] | York, yacht | Yegua | Yngve | Yankee | Yrjö | Yavuz | York |
| Z | Zulu | Zachary | Zebra | Zebra | Zebra | Zoé | Zacharias | Zaandam | Zara | Zaragoza | Zäta[4] | Zulu | Tseta[4] | Zeybek | Zebra |
| Æ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ægir/Ærlig | - | - | - |
| Ø | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ødis/Ørnulf/Østen | - | - | - |
| Å | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Åke | Åse/Ågot | Åke | - | - |
| Ä | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ärger | - | - | - | Ärlig | - | Äiti | - | - |
| Ö | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ökonom | - | - | - | Östen | - | Öljy | - | - |
The Greek spelling alphabet is a spelling alphabet (or "phonetic alphabet") for Greek, i.e. a set of names given to the alphabet letters for the purpose of spelling out words. It is used by the Greek army, the navy and the police.
See also Russian spelling alphabet.