For example, the Spanish pronunciation of the letter “P” sounds very similar to the English pronunciation of the letter “B.” This could cause issues when communicating names of people or places to someone who may not be familiar with those names in the other language, she says. “Across languages, speakers might hear a sound, but map it onto a different sound category in their own language, especially in contexts of background noise,” Sumner says. The British Royal Air Force adopted the same alphabet two years later.Īccording to NATO’s history of the phonetic alphabet, these earlier versions were criticized for their English bias because people from non-English speaking countries may be unfamiliar with the words used in those phonetic alphabets, potentially adding to the confusion when trying to communicate. Army and Navy established the “Able Baker alphabet,” named after the first two code words. This version primarily used names of cities and countries across the globe: Amsterdam, Baltimore, Casablanca, Denmark, and so on. In the 1920s, a special agency of the United Nations, called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), produced the first official version of a phonetic alphabet. However, several other variations preceded it. ![]() In the mid-1950s, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) became the first group to approve and use the new alphabet, hence its name. The NATO phonetic alphabet helps avoid ambiguity and makes it clear what the letters are, she says. “Especially in contexts that are noisy or when you can’t see the talker, ” such as over a radio with background noise or interference. For example, the sounds “ th” and “ f” are very similar (thin, fin) and easy to confuse, as are “ m” and “ n” sounds, she explains. “Many sounds are highly confusable within a language,” Sumner says. 'The Miracle Pilot' and His 120 MPH Water Landing.It is important for both speech perception and word recognition, Meghan Sumner, a linguistics professor at Stanford University, tells Popular Mechanics. The NATO phonetic alphabet is the universally adopted spelling alphabet, or code, used to clearly and precisely communicate words or letters both within the same language and across languages. To prevent such communication errors, agencies, businesses, services, and civilians around the world use the NATO phonetic alphabet. □Don’t miss the best in science, tech, aviation, and engineering- join Pop Mech Pro.īut it could be far more dire if such a miscommunication were to occur while giving an emergency dispatcher a street name, or while giving instructions to a pilot making an emergency landing. In this case, you’ll either mistakenly take the order for “Tim,” or you’ll place your order again and suffer a minor delay in getting your grub. Usually, that kind of communication snafu is a minor inconvenience. The confused cashier tells you, “Hmm, I don’t have an order for ‘Kim.’ Someone just picked up an order for ‘Jim,’ and I have one here for ‘Tim.’” Standing in front of the cashier in the take-out line, you tell them your name so you can pick up that pizza you called in 20 minutes ago. Familiarizing yourself with the letters could help you spell out your name over the phone while paying bills or placing food orders.It helps agencies, businesses, services, aviators, and civilians communicate more clearly and precisely. ![]() The NATO phonetic alphabet is a universally adopted spelling code.However, in place and person names (especially those from Mexico), it can be pronounced like a raspy English h, an s, or even the sh in English show. The equis is usually pronounced like the ks in English socks. A single erre at the beginning of a word is also trilled. When two erres appear together, they are trilled (the sound you make when you roll your tongue). When two eles appear together, they can be pronounced like the y in English yellow, the j in English judge, or the sh in English show, depending on what country you're in. When ce comes before hache, it's pronounced like the ch in English cheese. When ge comes before i or e, it's pronounced like a raspy English h.īefore other vowels ( a, o, u), it's pronounced like the g in English good. Let's take a look at some of the trickier combinations. While the majority of the letters in Spanish are always pronounced the same way, there are a few whose pronunciation changes depending on the letters with which they combine. How Do You Pronounce the Spanish Alphabet?
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