Phonetic Alphabet
Australian Amateurs use the NATO International Phonetic Alphabet when it comes to spelling words or callsigns, or pronouncing numbers or symbols. This can sometimes be different to that used by Amateurs in the USA, however since 1959 this is the international version as used by the military, aircraft, amateurs and many other services.
The very first international phonetic alphabet was adopted by the ITU in 1920 and used the names of cities to spell out words (e.g. A = Amsterdam, B = Baltimore, C = Casablanca). Then, in 1941, the US military adopted the “Able Baker” code (A = Able, B = Baker, C = Charlie). This was also adopted by the British in 1943.
After much debate between NATO, the ITU and ICAO the current phonetic alphabet was adopted by NATO and ICAO in 1956, and the ITU by 1959.
Letters
With the phonetic alphabet, each letter is assigned a word that is easy to understand over radio. Using this, radio operators can spell out words, callsigns or names with a greatly reduced chance of misunderstanding due to radio conditions.
| Letter | Phonetic Word | Pronounced |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa (sometimes written Alpha) | AL fah |
| B | Bravo | BRAH voh |
| C | Charlie | CHAR lee |
| D | Delta | DELL tah |
| E | Echo | ECK oh |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS trot |
| G | Golf | GOLF |
| H | Hotel | hoh TEL |
| I | India | IN dee ah |
| J | Juliet | JEW lee ETT |
| K | Kilo | KEY loh |
| L | Lima | LEE mah |
| M | Mike | MIKE |
| N | November | no VEM ber |
| O | Oscar | OSS cah |
| P | Papa | pah PAH |
| Q | Quebec | kwee BEK |
| R | Romeo | ROW me oh |
| S | Sierra | see AIR rah |
| T | Tango | TANG go |
| U | Uniform | YOU nee form |
| V | Victor | VIK tah |
| W | Whiskey | WISS key |
| X | X-Ray | ECKS ray |
| Y | Yankee | YANG key |
| Z | Zulu | ZOO loo |
Numbers
Likewise, numbers are pronounced differently than you might in normal conversation. This also helps the message make it through difficult radio conditions with better understanding. Note the way I have written zero ( Ø ) is the way it is written by communications operators so it isn’t easily confused with the letter O.
| Letter | Phonetic Word | Pronounced |
|---|---|---|
| Ø | Zero | ZEE row |
| 1 | One | WUN |
| 2 | Two | TOO |
| 3 | Three | thuh REE |
| 4 | Four | FOW er |
| 5 | Five | FIFE |
| 6 | Six | SIX |
| 7 | Seven | SEV en |
| 8 | Eight | AIT |
| 9 | Niner | NIN er |
| 10 | One Zero | WUN ZEE row |
NOTE: Numbers above nine are pronounced digit-by-digit rather than as a whole number, as per the example above for the number 10. This continues on so the number 109 would be pronounced as “One Zero Niner”.
Common Symbols
Finally, common symbols are pronounced a certain way to ensure they are better understood and not confused with other meanings (e.g. American English uses “period” to end a sentence. British English refers to this as a “full stop”). As ham radio is an international hobby, international conventions are usually adopted. More about the period vs full stop issue can be found here: https://grammarist.com/usage/full-stop-period/.
| Symbol | Phonetic Word | Pronounced |
|---|---|---|
| . | Full stop | FULL STOP |
| . | Decimal | DAY see mal |
| , | Comma | COMMA |
| / | Slash or Slant | SLASH / SLANT |
| - | Hyphen | HY FEN |
NOTE: a full stop is different to a decimal point even though it looks the same. Hence the two different phonetics for what looks like the same symbol.