ECHO, FOXTROT, CHARLIE?
theenglishteacher on January 14th, 2009
English Phonetic Spelling
Sometimes wrongly called the
International Phonetic Alphabet
When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English Phonetic Spelling. To spell “Club”, for example, you would say: “C for Charlie, L for Lima, U for Uniform, B for Bravo.”
It is very easy to learn English Phonetic Spelling. Start by spelling your name, then your company or address. Soon, you will know the whole alphabet. It also helps to remember that there are several groups of words that go together:
- Dances: Foxtrot, Tango
- Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet
- Men’s first names: Charlie, Mike, Oscar, Victor
- Cities: Lima, Quebec
|
|
Source www.englishclub.com
My husband learned this handy guide in the military (as I assume did many others). He still uses it today when he has to clarify the spelling of a word to someone on the phone.
I try to use these phonetic spelling words many times, but they always seem to confuse the listener. It seems that many Americans prefer to use common words, like boy for b and Tom for t. Then there was the time I tried to use the standard Italian phonetic spelling words while talking in English with a customer service rep for AirOne.
He got angry at me and told me to spell it in English.