Memorize English Phonetic Spelling With Me

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Laura Christianson

When I’m listening to the radio, the hosts and advertisers often rattle off website addresses so quickly that I can’t figure out what they said.

You may have experienced the same problem during phone conversations, when spelling a name or address.

Whenever this happens to me, I guess at a word to substitute for the letter. And I end up sounding stupid when I say things like, “P is for… er… potato. Or is it panda?… or preposition?

I’ve decided it’s time to memorize the English Phonetic Spelling (also called the NATO Phonetic Alphabet). A phonetic alphabet is a list of spoken words substituted for letters of the English alphabet. It helps prevent confusion between similar-sounding letters (m and n) and to clarify potentially garbled transmission.

If you don’t already have this list memorized, I invite you to join me in this quest. Someone suggested to start by spelling your name, than your company or address. Soon, you’ll know the whole alphabet!

I’m starting with my first name, Laura: Lima Alpha Uniform Romeo Alpha

English Phonetic Spelling  (Print and carry it with you)

A    Alpha
B    Bravo
C    Charlie
D    Delta
E    Echo
F    Foxtrot
G    Golf
H    Hotel
I     India
J    Juliet
K    Kilo
L    Lima
M   Mike              
N    November
O    Oscar
P    Papa
Q    Quebec
R    Romeo
S    Sierra
T    Tango
U    Uniform
V    Victor
W   Whisky
X    X-ray
Y    Yankee
Z     Zulu

Anyone have other great memory devices to share?

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  • Beth Willis Miller

    Hi Laura! Here are four great memory devices or mnemonic cue words, phrases or sentences to encode and retrieve information.The first two examples are for a list of items that must remain in a certain order, and the second two examples are for a list of items that can be shuffled around.

    The colors of the visible light spectrum:
    LIST: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
    CUE WORD: ROY G. BIV

    The order of math operations:
    LIST: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction
    CUE PHRASE: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

    The names of the Great Lakes:
    ORIGINAL LIST: Erie, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario
    REORGANIZED LIST: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
    CUE WORD: HOMES

    The names of American authors:
    ORIGINAL LIST: Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman
    REORGANIZED LIST: Irving, Poe, Whitman, Twain, Sandburg
    CUE PHRASE: I Paid Way Too Soon

    Blessings,
    Beth Willis Miller
    Blog: http://www.bethwillismiller.blogspot.com

  • http://bloggingbistro.com/ Laura Christianson

    Thanks, Beth! I know “Roy G. Biv,” and my hubby is a math teacher, so I always hear him talking about “Please Excuse My Deal Aunt Sally,” but the others are new to me. I need to memorize the names of the Great Lakes in case I ever go to New York and end up on the “Cash Cab” game show!

    In Seattle, we have a mnemonic for the order of the major streets downtown: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine: “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest.”

  • Jenn Doucette

    From 3rd Grade Science:

    My Very Energetic Mother Just Serves Us Nine Pickles
    Mercury
    Venus
    Earth
    Mars
    Jupiter
    Saturn
    Uranus
    Neptune
    Pluto (Which, sadly, is now just a big floating rock in space. Poor Pluto. I include him here for nostalgic reasons.)

    Yea, Mrs. Walters!!

  • http://www.dennisbrooke.wordpress.com Dennis Brooke

    I wish everyone knew the phonetic alphabet because it's so easy to use when you're trying to spell something out with someone–like tech support! I know it from my experience as an Air Force officer and it makes things a lot easier.
    The tricky one is Quebec for Q. It's actually pronounced, Kay-beck which brings a round of laughter to the uninitiated ones :-)
    Dennis Brooke. Blogging about Almost True Stories of Life at http://www.dennisbrooke.wordpress.com

  • http://bloggingbistro.com/ Laura Christianson

    Ooh, that's a good one, Jenn! Isn't it amazing the strange things we remember from 3rd grade?

  • http://bloggingbistro.com/ Laura Christianson

    You are so right, Dennis. I had another experience today, when I was giving directions over the phone to someone who's attending a workshop I'm teaching. I said, “D as in Dog.” Oops. Forgot that “D is for Delta.”

  • Snohobob

    Here is how I do it.
    1) Groups of four
    2) Make up a crazy sentence for each group.
    3) Of course, the Yankees – just SUCK!

    Bravo for Charlie, he flew on Delta instead of Alpha.
    I heard the echo of a foxtrot from my hotel as I played golf.
    Juliet bought a Kilo of Lima beans from India.
    Mike’s papa won an Oscar in November.
    Romeo and Sierra did the tango in Quebec.
    Victor’s x-ray showed whisky on his uniform.
    Hey Zulu, the Yankees, they just SUCK!

  • http://bloggingbistro.com/ Laura Christianson

    Aaah… it took me a while to figure out what you're doing. That's a good way to memorize the phonetic alphabet — make up zany sentences that contain the letter names. Memorizing them in groups of four makes it easy. If I wasn't already married, I'd marry you!