Spelling: Curiosity

When spelling the word doesn’t help, the person, thinking they have a good solution, says, “the first letter is ‘b’ for butter”, but for all I know, they said “g” for gutter or “p” for “putter” so I still don’t have a clue how to spell their name.

This is where the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet shines. What is good for radio operators is also good for hard of hearing people.

The way the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet works is that there is a specific list of 26 carefully-chosen words, each one beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Here is the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (and the proper pronunciation in brackets after each word).

A   Alpha (AL fah)
B   Bravo (BRAH voe)
C   Charlie (CHAR lee
D   Delta (DELL tah)
E   Echo (EK oh)
F   Foxtrot (FOKS trot)
G   Golf (GOLF)
H   Hotel (hoe TELL)
I    India (IN dee ah)
J   Juliet (JEW lee ETT)
K   Kilo (KEY loe)
L    Lima (LEE mah)
M   Mike (MIKE)
N   November (noe VEM ber)
O   Oscar (OSS kar)
P   Papa (PAH pah)
Q   Quebec (kee BECK)
R   Romeo (ROE mee oh)
S   Sierra (see AIR ah)
T   Tango (TAN go)
U   Uniform (YOO nee form)
V   Victor (VIK tor)
W  Whiskey (WISS kee)
X   Xray (ECKS ray)
Y   Yankee (YANG kee)
Z   Zulu (ZOO loo)

By having one, and only one “word” representing each letter of the alphabet, there is now only 26 possibilities instead of the almost infinite number of words if a person doesn’t use the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet. This makes understanding which letter is meant ever so much easier.

source: http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/ipa.htm