Broznitsky Posted 26 May , 2005 Share Posted 26 May , 2005 I am familiar with the modern phonetic alphabet as used in police or military circles, but can anybody direct us to a list of what would have been used in 14-18? Peter in Vancouver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 26 May , 2005 Share Posted 26 May , 2005 The International Phonetic Alphabet was designed in 1888 and has been in use since then. The principles set up then still hold good, with a few exceptions. I have a 1949 version here which I would still use were I working. I can add more information if you need it. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 26 May , 2005 Share Posted 26 May , 2005 A - Ack B - Beer C - Charlie D - Don E - Edward F - Freddie G - Gee H - Harry I - Ink J - Johnnie K - King L - London M - Emma N - Nuts O - Oranges P - Pip Q - Queen R - Robert S - Esses T - Toc U - Uncle V - Vic W - William X - X-Ray Y - Yorker Z - Zebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 26 May , 2005 Share Posted 26 May , 2005 Ooops. Sorry! Misunderstood. See, I wouldn't call that a phonetic alphabet.... Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 26 May , 2005 Share Posted 26 May , 2005 Ooops. Sorry! Misunderstood. See, I wouldn't call that a phonetic alphabet.... Gwyn <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Interesting to see it, but I wonder if it was all used all the time. What I mean is that I have seen (in - I think - "Carrying On" by Ian Hay) the Argylls referred to as "Ack and Esses H" - now it would be "Alpha and Sierra Hotel", by which I mena the H was left as normal because nothing sounded like it in the context. To try and illustrate further, it was always "Toc H" - never Toc Harry. Was this phonetic alphabet as widespread as the modern NATO one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Good to see this in full and thanks to Chris for posting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auimfo Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Strange how things change through the years. The phonetic alphabet I use every day of the week is a lot different Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whisky X-ray Yankee Zulu A true story....20 years ago, brand new 'wet behind the ears' constable checking car plates over the radio has a sudden mental blank at the letter 'Z'. Stutters and stammers for a few seconds before coming out with 'xylophone'........I don't think I'll ever live that one down!! Tim L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broznitsky Posted 27 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Chris, thanks for posting that list, just what I was looking for. Gwyn, what would you call such a list? What is your phonetic alphabet definition? Tim, yes, that is the alphabet we use in Canada. I still occasionally have brain stutters on some of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 I was told many years ago that the Nato phoenetic alphabet was chosen as the words could not be confused with any others. Have you ever listened to how many pronunciations of Quebec there are or even Papa for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 I think it's a Bob Newhart routine when he's talking to the telepnoe operator who wants him to spell out Mississippi... Operator says: "P as in pneumonia" Gosh, how we laughed zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Best Posted 28 May , 2005 Share Posted 28 May , 2005 Chris (or anyone) How many other alphabets have there been between that spelled out by Chris and the introduction of the currently accepted NATO sequence? Was Chris's also used in WW2? Chris Best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 29 May , 2005 Share Posted 29 May , 2005 Here is a website listing other phonetic alphabets which have been used in the UK. http://morsecode.scphillips.com/alphabet.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 29 May , 2005 Share Posted 29 May , 2005 Gwyn, what would you call such a list? What is your phonetic alphabet definition? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This is a situation where a technical phrase with a specific application in linguistics is different from its widespread adaptation by non-specialists. The system you’re describing is a code and I would call it the International Communication Alphabet or Code. If relevant, I might possibly call it the military alphabet. Its purpose is to avoid ambiguity. A phonetic alphabet is a way of transcribing the actual speech sounds which are made as events in language: how you create them in the mouth, tongue and lips, and how they sound to a listener. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) allows the transcription of these sounds independently of the language in use. It enables linguists to be precise about sound differences irrespective of meaning. For example, the differences between the sounds made by changing just one vowel in pat to make pet, pit and pot (in English) can be described linguistically to anyone who can read the IPA, even if she doesn’t read English. I can’t show it on here because I doubt the software supports the IPA. However, understanding the differences in meaning requires a knowledge of English, so you could spell it out as papa-alpha-tango, which would mean something specific to an English user. To make sure that the listener doesn’t mistake the vowel, because pat and pet can sound quite similar in some accents, you’re making it unambiguous by using alpha and not echo or India. Local to me, I could explain in a few symbols how to pronounce Cholmondeley but if air traffic control were telling someone to route over the place, they’d have to spell charlie-hotel-oscar.... I’m aware that in practice a lot of people use the phrase ‘phonetic alphabet’ to describe the code for spelling out letters, but to someone whose way of thinking is conditioned by a background in language, including its sounds and morphology, the phrase has a specific technical use and therefore the IPA is what I thought you were asking for. See here for the IPA. http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/fullchart.html Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broznitsky Posted 29 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 29 May , 2005 Terry, thanks for that link. Very interesting. Gwyn, thanks for the explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen D Posted 7 April , 2006 Share Posted 7 April , 2006 Found this on the net.http://www.nor.com.au/community/sarc/phonetic.htm#THI British forces 1904: Ack Beer C D E F G H I J K L Emma N O Pip Q R Esses Toc U Vic W X Y Z [The OED has a reference for Beer and Emma dated 1891] British 1914, perhaps Post Office approved: Apple Brother Charlie Dover Eastern Father George Harry India Jack King London Mother November October Peter Queen Robert Sugar Thomas Uncle Victoria Wednesday Xmas Yellow Zebra Royal Navy 1917: Apples Butter Charlie Duff Edward Freddy George Harry Ink Johnnie King London Monkey Nuts Orange Pudding Queenie Robert Sugar Tommy Uncle Vinegar Willie Xerxes Yellow Zebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 21 September , 2012 Share Posted 21 September , 2012 (edited) German military phonetic alphabet (not sure if it dates to Great War) Adolf Berta Casar David Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Isidor Julius Karl Ludwig Moritz Nathan Otto Paul Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodore Ursula Viktor Willi Xantippe Ypsilon Zachaerias regards khaki Edited 27 April , 2019 by Khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 September , 2012 Share Posted 21 September , 2012 Another on Here (scroll down) Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 21 September , 2012 Share Posted 21 September , 2012 German military phoenetic alphabet (not sure if it dates to Great War) . . . Willi Xantippe Ypsilon Zachaerias I have seen a variant of this in which Y = Ypern (i.e. Ypres) Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 22 September , 2012 Share Posted 22 September , 2012 German military phonetic alphabet (not sure if it dates to Great War) Adolf Berta Casar David Emil Friedrich I checked back to where I had found the above phonetic alphabet, and yes it is WW1 German, I saw it on the side of a German Army field telephone box (m1905). Makes me feel better. Regards khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 22 September , 2012 Share Posted 22 September , 2012 German military phonetic alphabet (not sure if it dates to Great War) Adolf Berta Casar David Emil Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Isidor Karl Ludwig Moritz Nathan Otto Paul Quelle Richard Siegfried Theodore Ursula Viktor Willi Xantippe Ypsilon Zachaerias regards khaki I always thought the German one started: Anton, Bruno, Cesar, Dora - as in the Bismarck's turrets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 22 September , 2012 Share Posted 22 September , 2012 Hi MikB, I was initially surprised too, however it maybe that the, (Anton, Bruno) version is a later development or possibly that it was an alternative. I am suspicious that as "Adolf" disappeared that it was considered inappropriate to use "The Fuhrers" first name. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 22 September , 2012 Share Posted 22 September , 2012 Hello MikB That was probably a WW2 variant, which replaced Adolf for reasons of respect (Khaki beat me to it on this) and others such as David and Nathan because of possible Jewish overtones. The 800mm rail-mounted gun of WW2 was variously known as Gustav and Dora, both of which appear in your list. There was also a gun named "Kurz Bruno" which may also have been derived from your list. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc2 Posted 23 September , 2012 Share Posted 23 September , 2012 Strange how things change through the years. The phonetic alphabet I use every day of the week is a lot different Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whisky X-ray Yankee Zulu A true story....20 years ago, brand new 'wet behind the ears' constable checking car plates over the radio has a sudden mental blank at the letter 'Z'. Stutters and stammers for a few seconds before coming out with 'xylophone'........I don't think I'll ever live that one down!! Tim L. TIM, that's the one used by the US Army in Vietnam. Don't know when it was introduced, but it i different from the WW2 one, which went able, baker, charlie, dog, easy...... Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 23 September , 2012 Share Posted 23 September , 2012 The Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta alphabet began as the NATO standard probably sometime during the 1950s. Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog was the earlier U.S. Army version adopted around 1943 and was the one my Dad used when he spelled something over the phone. The 1943 alphabet was a slight revision of the previous U.S. Army version which had a few letters that were often misunderstood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc2 Posted 24 September , 2012 Share Posted 24 September , 2012 Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) has a good summary of the history and development of these systems, including lists of the WWI UK and WW2 US versions. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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