When pronouncing letters over the phone do you use the NATO phonetic alphabet or make it up?

Forums › Off topic › When pronouncing letters over the phone do you use the NATO phonetic alphabet or make it up?

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#2893471 29-Mar-2022 12:47

lchiu7:

And of course Oscar Mike ~~George~~Golf

Sorry my pedantry meant I needed to correct that ;-)

Way back last century my wife’s boss thought it was funny to spell stuff out using body parts. No one else in the office thought it was funny, and these days it would have got him a harassment complaint.

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#2893476 29-Mar-2022 12:53

i use whatever i feel like.

i've had people struggling to understand SIERRA and NINER so I know those two are likely not helpful in certain situations

Stu

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#2893479 29-Mar-2022 13:03

Batman:

i use whatever i feel like.

i've had people struggling to understand SIERRA and NINER so I know those two are likely not helpful in certain situations

Niner? For 'N'? If so, you're doing it wrong and it's no wonder people struggle to understand! ;-)

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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#2893483 29-Mar-2022 13:16

Plane geek. So nato
Mainly as I can rattle it off rather than go 's for uhhhh'

Also super handy for getting point across when talking to police calltakers...

The baker etc, thats the US for you. Go and make their own variation of it :)

Majority people names..good comparison chart here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/APCO_radiotelephony_spelling_alphabet

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#2893492 29-Mar-2022 13:23

I use Nato, its not for quality of the call so much as if you're dealing with o/seas call centers that are not to familiar with the sounds of kiwi english.

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#2893506 29-Mar-2022 14:05

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Qubec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu is what I use.... think thats the same as the NATO one (not looked at).

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#2893515 29-Mar-2022 14:30

lchiu7:

From reading the Wikipedia article, it seems the NATO alphabet was altered to make the sounds clearer for those who are not native English speakers. For example most airlines around the world talk to ATC in English and use the NATO phonetic alphabetic.

I sometimes forget and say O for October than Oscar which seems like a less common word one would usually speak. Again P for Pappa rather than Peter.

Surprisingly I've encountered a couple of AirNZ CSR's who don't get it. I have a surname that has to be spelled out, so I'm a frequent phoneticiser

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#2893530 29-Mar-2022 14:46

Nate001:

Had to learn NATO years ago for a marine VHF operator licence. I use it whenever I'm on the phone and want to be sure the other person gets it correct. Eg flight booking references for one.

A few times now I've heard a sigh of relief from the other end when they realise you use it and they start using it fluently back at you.

Almost me as well, worked with a guy who learned it for his VHF licence which I passively learned at the time but has subsequently come in very handy. I primarily use it for spelling out reset client passwords over the phone and yes they sometimes fluently quote it back. I also rarely have to repeat it as people tend to retain words than random letters. As someone suggested also use it for getting a WOF or feeling smug with a police call taker speaking their lingo 😎

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#2893531 29-Mar-2022 14:46

I try use the NATO one, but my brain often gets a few letters in and blanks. So then I just start winging it

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lchiu7

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#2893557 29-Mar-2022 15:09

Dingbatt:

lchiu7:

And of course Oscar Mike GeorgeGolf

Sorry my pedantry meant I needed to correct that ;-)

Way back last century my wife’s boss thought it was funny to spell stuff out using body parts. No one else in the office thought it was funny, and these days it would have got him a harassment complaint.

Exactly. For some reason I had George in my mind but Golf is correct.

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#2893562 29-Mar-2022 15:15

More than 50 years ago working as a young graduate in remote parts of what is now PNG (then TPNG) we used that NATO list for communications between field teams and to base camp. though I don't recall it ever being referred to as 'NATO' anything.

Rarely used since until a few years ago but with profound high frequency hearing loss, I am now finding it increasingly necessary at times on the phone and in shops etc.

Except that in the intervening ~50 years I no longer recall the full list in the heat of a conversation or call so end up using a mix of 'NATO' and whatever comes to mind.

Seems to work fine but for the last year or two I have been intending(!) to refamiliarise myself with the official codes ...

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#2893564 29-Mar-2022 15:17

lchiu7:

Dingbatt:

And of course Oscar Mike GeorgeGolf

Exactly. For some reason I had George in my mind but Golf is correct.

And TV shows like Chicago PD really mess with me as on their radios they're all about Adam George Ida, Nancy etc... which based on that Wikipedia reference dates back to the 1940s.

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#2893580 29-Mar-2022 15:57

Always NATO phonetic as well from my days as a private pilot

that would be an ecumenical matter

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#2893602 29-Mar-2022 16:57

Stu:

Niner? For 'N'? If so, you're doing it wrong and it's no wonder people struggle to understand! ;-)

Niner is the right way to pronounce 9.

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#2893603 29-Mar-2022 17:01

frankv:

Stu:

Niner? For 'N'? If so, you're doing it wrong and it's no wonder people struggle to understand! ;-)

Niner is the right way to pronounce 9.

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