![]() It may be enough to remember, however, that most of the letters are pronounced using the simple rules that vowels represent themselves, in long vowel form (e – ee), and consonants are represented either consant +ee (dee) or e+consonant (eff). Thanks to the internet, you can now hear variants of the tune on YouTube. Often joined by the final line, “Now I know my ACB, won’t you sing along with me.”, and then repeated. How to learn the names of English lettersĮnglish-speaking children are often taught the names of the English alphabet using a simple rhyme, grouping the words in the following way: The names of letters in the English alphabet Letter The following table gives all the names of the English (for a full printable image file, with NATO words, click the image above, or here): The names are also used when we pronounce acronyms (multiple words abbreviated to letters), such as PDF, MC and DJ, or with compound nouns that use an individual letter, such as T-shirt or A-level. The pronunciation of these letter names can be very useful if you need to spell out your name, words, or just individual letters, in spoken English. ![]() It is very rare that you will have to write these names, so the spellings of the letters’ names themselves may not be especially important to learn – what is important is how they are pronounced. The names of these letters mostly correspond to the sound of the letter itself (usually in a single long vowel form, or with a consonant followed by a long vowel), with some exceptions. As it was NATO Allies who had spearheaded the final revision, it became known from that point on as the NATO Alphabet.When you need to spell a word out loud, there is a recognised vocabulary for naming the individual letters of the English alphabet. The ITU formally adopted it a few years later making it the established universal phonetic alphabet governing all military, civilian and amateur radio communications. On 21 February 1956, Member States were advised “that the new Phonetic Alphabet is to be made effective in NATO 1 March 1956” (see declassified document from the NATO Archives: SGM-0156-56). Luckily this situation did not last for long as the ICAO approved the alphabet, with November as the code word for the letter N. On 8 April 1955, the North Atlantic Military Committee Standing Group advised that whether or not the proposal was approved by the IACO, the alphabet would “be adopted and made effective for NATO use on 1 January 1956” (see declassified document from the NATO Archives: SGM-0217-55).Īllies hesitated to adopt the alphabet for national use until the ICAO ruled on the proposal thus creating a rather odd situation in which NATO Military Commands would be the sole users of the proposed phonetic alphabet. A review of the Able Baker alphabet, spearheaded by NATO Allies US and UK, was conducted.Ī proposal changing the words for the letters C, M, N, U, and X only was submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (IACO) although debate continued over the code word for the letter N (Nectar versus November) (see declassified document from the NATO Archives: SGWM-762-54). It is similar to the one used today.Īlfa, Bravo, Coca, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Gold, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Metro, Nectar, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Union, Victor, Whiskey, eXtra, Yankee, ZuluĪs militaries and NATO continued to follow the Able Baker phonetic alphabet, it was clear the need for a universal phonetic alphabet still remained. A new version incorporating sounds common to English, French, and Spanish was proposed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and came into effect on 1 November 1951 for civil aviation only. ![]() Two years later, the British Royal Air Force decided to use the Able Baker alphabet as well.Īble, 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, ZebraĪ common criticism of these alphabets was that they were rather English in composition. On the military side, the United States adopted a Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, called the Able Baker alphabet after the first two code words, across all of its military branches in 1941. ![]() It featured names of cities across the globe.Īmsterdam, Baltimore, Casablanca, Denmark, Edison, Florida, Gallipoli, Havana, Italia, Jerusalem, Kilogramme, Liverpool, Madagascar, New York, Oslo, Paris, Quebec, Roma, Santiago, Tripoli, Uppsala, Valencia, Washington, Xanthippe, Yokohama, Zurich. In the 1920s, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) produced the first phonetic alphabet to be recognized internationally. However, it took several adaptations before the version used today came into effect. The NATO phonetic alphabet became effective in 1956 and just a few years later became the established universal phonetic alphabet. ![]()
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