Why telephonic transmission requires the creation of a spelling alphabet
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The genius logic of the NATO phonetic alphabet (title of the YouTube video)
This video by RobWords is rather long (23:27), but offers a captivating, enlightening look at the origins, makeup, and function of the NATO phonetic alphabet (NPA). With 4.5M views and 10,815 comments in the first four weeks after posting, it seems to have struck a resonant note among a very large audience.
According to RobWords:
The NATO phonetic alphabet is not a phonetic alphabet and wasn't invented by NATO. However, it has a fascinating story to tell. It is the result of years of linguistic experimentation in the wake of the violence of World War II. So let's explore its development, from ALFA to ZULU. In this episode, we'll uncover the surprising story of how this alphabet – used by everyone from pilots to police officers – came to be. And look at the strange words that almost made the cut.
If you watch the presentation to the end, you will come to realize how complicated the process of choosing the 26 code words of the NPA was: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, and Zulu. Linguistic concerns were at the heart of every stage of the selection process.
This hard-won, internationally recognized spelling alphabet is also known as belonging to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Selected readings
- "Toward a Linguistically Valid Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet" (1/26/21)
- "D for Dog, L for Love" (12/12/10)
[Thanks to Gene Hill]
Philip Taylor said,
November 19, 2025 @ 4:52 pm
Hmm. A few differences from the version I was taught — "Alpha" (not "Alfa"), "Juliet" (not "Juliett"), and "Whisky" (not "Whiskey"). Very useful when specifying postcodes and vehicle registration plates, among other things. The only one which ever seems to cause confusion (at least, among the non-cognoscenti) is "Golf" which can be mis-heard as "Cough" if pronounced as in high-RP (/ɡɒf/).
r-bryan said,
November 19, 2025 @ 5:22 pm
The NATO alphabet can be sung to Ode to Joy, with only a few infelicities.
Alpha bravo charlie delta,
Echo foxtrot, golf, hotel.
India jul-iet! kilo lima!
Mike november o-oscar.
Papa QEEbec ro-meo sierra,
Tango umbrella, vi-ictor.
Whiskey xray yankee zulu:
NATO letters, what they're for.
J.W. Brewer said,
November 19, 2025 @ 5:46 pm
Given that the entire purpose of these 26 words is to be uttered aloud in specific contexts, there is no need for uniform spelling of e.g. "whisk[e]y." Varying pronunciations of the same word could be more of a problem but the selection criteria are supposed to take care of that, i.e. ensure that no regional-dialect pronunciation of "whiskey" would be too confusing to speakers of other dialects that they wouldn't figure out what word was being uttered. Heck, maybe German military personnel pronounce it /ˈvɪski/ yet are understood in context by Anglophones.
Rick Rubenstein said,
November 19, 2025 @ 5:51 pm
I had already watched Rob's excellent video, and it left me with one nagging question: How in the world did "tare" end up in the Able-Baker alphabet (one of the current NATO alphabet's most important antecedents)? It seems to fail both the "well-known word" test and the "unambiguous pronunciation" test, and could easily be mistaken for, e.g., "pear" on a noisy channel. All in all, it appears to be a bizarre choice.
Jim Breen said,
November 19, 2025 @ 6:27 pm
Great video! I really enjoyed it.
Steve Morrison said,
November 19, 2025 @ 9:20 pm
@r-bryan: Coincidentally, I’m listening to the “Ode to Joy” as I read this!
Victor Mair said,
November 19, 2025 @ 9:46 pm
@Steve Morrison:
Amazing performance by André Rieu and friends:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg3sEE18WsE
Jonathan Smith said,
November 19, 2025 @ 9:49 pm
Setting aside the desire to be trilingual, seems like first syllable stressed and sounds like name of letter in question (+ avoid similar-sounding words of course) would be way more learnable / comprehensible… Azure BEAgle CEdar DEAcon Ether and stuff.
Kenny said,
November 19, 2025 @ 11:02 pm
Jonathan – the problem with making the first syllable sound like the name of the letter is that this would mean that a third of them have nearly identical first syllables (B, C, D, G, P, T, V, Z), and likely one or two of those would have had rhyming second syllables as well. The actual set of words chosen has far more diversity of syllable sounds. (And also avoids the issue of second-language speakers who think of the letters as being pronounced differently than English speakers – as well as the American/British challenges with Z.)
Jerry Packard said,
November 20, 2025 @ 8:30 am
Oscar Kilo Sierra November Alpha Foxtrot Uniform