Pronunciation of code words[edit]

This article contains phonetic

transcriptions in the International
Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an
introductory guide on IPA symbols,
see Help:IPA. For the distinction
between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA
§ Brackets and transcription
delimiters.

The final choice of code words for the letters of the alphabet and for the digits was made after
hundreds of thousands of comprehension tests involving 31 nationalities. The qualifying feature was
the likelihood of a code word being understood in the context of others. For example, football has a
higher chance of being understood than foxtrot in isolation, but foxtrot is superior in extended
communication.[10]
The pronunciation of the code words varies according to the language habits of the speaker. To
eliminate wide variations in pronunciation, recordings and posters illustrating the pronunciation
desired by the ICAO are available. [10][11] However, there are still differences in pronunciation between
the ICAO and other agencies, and the ICAO has conflicting Latin-alphabet and International
Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions. Also, although all codes for the letters of the alphabet are
English words, they are not in general given English pronunciations.
Pronunciations are somewhat uncertain because the agencies, while ostensibly using the same
pronunciations, give different transcriptions, which are often inconsistent from letter to letter. The
ICAO gives a different pronunciation for IPA transcription and for respelling, and the FAA also gives
different pronunciations depending on the publication consulted, the FAA Aeronautical Information
Manual (§ 4-2-7), the FAA Flight Services manual (§ 14.1.5), or the ATC manual (§ 2-4-16).
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) gives English spellings, but does not
give pronunciations or numbers. The ICAO, NATO, and FAA use modifications of English numerals,
with stress on one syllable, while the ITU and IMO compound pseudo-Latinate numerals with a
slightly different set of modified English numerals, and with stress on each syllable. Numbers 10–99
are spelled out (that is, 17 is spoken "one seven" and 60 is spoken "six zero"), while for hundreds
and thousands the English words hundred and thousand are used.[6][11][12][13][14][15]
The pronunciation of the digits 3, 4, 5, and 9 differs from standard English – being
pronounced tree, fower, fife, and niner. The digit 3 is specified as tree so that it is not
pronounced sri; the long pronunciation of 4 (still found in some English dialects) keeps it somewhat
distinct from for; 5 is pronounced with a second "f" because the normal pronunciation with a "v" is
easily confused with "fire" (a command to shoot); and 9 has an extra syllable to keep it distinct from
German nein 'no'.[16]
Only the ICAO prescribes pronunciation with the IPA, and then only for letters.[11] Several of the
pronunciations indicated are slightly modified from their normal English pronunciations: [ˈælfa, ˈbraː
ˈvo, ˈdeltɑ, ɡʌlf, ˈliːmɑ, ˈɔskɑ, siˈerɑ, ˈtænɡo, ˈuːnifɔrm, ˈviktɑ, ˈjænki], partially due to the substitution
of final schwas with the [ɑ] vowel. Both the IPA and respelled pronunciations were developed by the
ICAO before 1956 with advice from the governments of both the United States and United Kingdom,
[17]
 so the pronunciations of both General American English and British Received Pronunciation are
evident, especially in the rhotic and non-rhotic accents. The respelled version is usually at least
consistent with a rhotic accent ('r' pronounced), as in CHAR LEE, SHAR LEE, NO VEM BER, YOU
NEE FORM, and OO NEE FORM, but an orthographic 'r' can also specify the quality of the vowel.
The IPA version usually specifies a non-rhotic accent ('r' pronounced only before a vowel), as
in [ˈtʃɑːli], [ˈʃɑːli], [noˈvembə], and [ˈjuːnifɔːm]. Inconsistencies are OSS CAH, VIK TAH and ˈuːnifɔrm.
The IPA form of Golf implies it is pronounced gulf, which is neither General American English nor
British Received Pronunciation. Different agencies assign different stress patterns to Bravo, Hotel,
Juliett, November, Papa, X-ray; the ICAO even has different stresses for Bravo, Juliett, X-ray in its
respelled and IPA transcriptions. Furthermore, the pronunciation prescribed for whiskey begins the
voiced [w], although some speakers use the voiceless [ʍ] here, particularly in Scotland and Ireland
(wine–whine distinction).
In addition, the ITU and IMO specify a different set of numeral words than does the ICAO. The
ITU/IMO words are compounds combining the English numeral with either a Spanish or Latin prefix.
[18]
 However, as of 2002, the IMO's GMDSS procedures permit the use of the ICAO numeral
pronunciation.[18]

Pronunciation Conflicts hide

Conflicting accounts of the pronunciation

ITU-
R
Sy ICA FAA r
Code ICA 2007 SIA[21] 1957 U. NATO 
mb O 20 IMO Englis espelli (Fran
word O 20 (WR S. & U.S.
ol 08 h ng ce Avera
08 C- Navy r Army r
resp respelling (with aeron ge
in IP 07) autica espelli espelli
ellin (French)[20] stress)
A[19] resp [13] l) ng[22] ng[23]
g[19]
ellin
g[12]

AL FAH (AL  ALFA
A Alfa ˈælfa AL FAH al fah AL fåh AL fah ˈælfɑ
FAH) H

ˈbraː BRAH VOH  BRAH bra v BRÄH BRAH ˈbrɑ(ˈ)

B Bravo BRAH VOH
ˈvo (BRA VO) VOH o VŌH voh vo

CHAR LEE tchah 
ˈtʃɑːli  CHAR LEE (or SHAR L CHÄR
CHAR li, CHAR
C Charlie or or SHAR LE EE) LĒĔ ˈ(t)ʃɑli
LEE char l lee
ˈʃɑːli E TCHAH LI [sic]
(ou CHAR LI)
i

ˈdelt DELL TAH ( DELLT del ta DĔLL

D Delta DELL TAH DEL tah ˈdɛltɑ
ɑ DEL TAH) AH h tåh
 ECK OH (EK  ECKO
E Echo ˈeko ECK OH èk o ĔCK ōh EKK oh ˈɛko
O) H

ˈfɔks FOKS TROT  FOKS fox tr FŎKS FOKS ˈfɔkstr

F Foxtrot FOKS TROT
trɔt FOX TROTT TROT ott trŏt trot ɔt

GOLF (GOLF
G Golf ɡʌlf GOLF GOLF golf GŎLF Golf ˈɡɔlf
)

hoː HO T HOH  HOH TELL ( HOHT ho tèl hōh

H Hotel HO tell hoˈtɛl
ˈtel ELL TELL HO TÈLL) ELL l TĔLL

ˈindi. IN DEE AH ( INDEE  in di ÏN dēē IN dee

I India IN DEE AH ˈɪndiɑ
ɑ IN DI AH) AH ah åh [sic] ah

JEW LEE E JEWL
ˈdʒuː JEW LEE E djou l JEW JEW ˈdʒuli(
J Juliett TT (DJOU LI  EE ET
li.ˈet TT i ètt lēē ĔTT lee ett ˈ)ɛt
ÈTT) T

KEY LOH (K KEYL KĒY

K Kilo ˈkiːlo KEY LOH ki lo KEY loh ˈkilo
I LO) OH lōh

ˈliːm LEE MAH (LI  LEEM li ma LĒĒ LEE

L Lima LEE MAH ˈlimɑ
ɑ MAH) AH h måh mah

M Mike mɑik MIKE MIKE (MA ÏK) MIKE maïk MĪKE Mike ˈmaɪk

no NO VEM BE no vè no
Novem NO VEM BE NOVE nō VĔM NOH
N ˈvem R (NO VÈMM  mm b ˈvɛmb
ber R MBER bēr [sic] vem ber
bə BER) er ə

ˈɔsk OSS CAH (O OSSC oss k ŎSS OSS

O Oscar OSS CAH ˈɔskɑ
ɑ SS KAR) AH ar cåh car

P Papa pə PAH PAH PAH PAH (P PAHP pah p påh PAH pɑˈpɑ

 ˈpɑ AH PAH) AH ah PÄH pah

kēh
ke KEH BECK ( KEHB ké bè keh ke
Q Quebec KEH BECK BĒCK
ˈbek KÉ BÈK) ECK k BECK ˈbɛk
[sic]

ROW
ˈroː ROW ME ROW ME O ro mi ROW ROW ˈromi
R Romeo ME O
mi.o OH H (RO MI O) o mē ōh me oh o
H

SEE AIR RA
si SEE AIR RA SEEAI si èr r sēē see AIR
S Sierra H (SI ÈR RAH siˈɛrɑ
ˈerɑ H RAH ah ÄIRråh ah
)

ˈtæn TANG GO (T TANG tang  TĂNG TANG ˈtæŋɡ

T Tango TANG GO
ɡo ANG GO) GO go gō go o

YOUN
YOU NEE F EE FO
ˈjuːni ORM you n
YOU NEE RM
fɔːm  (or OO NEE  i YOU YOU
Unifor FORM or O (or ˈ(j)uni
U or FORM) form, nēē nee
m O NEE OO- fɔm
ˈuːnif YOU NI FORM ou ni fôrm form
FORM NEE-
ɔrm (ou OU NI FO form
RM) FORM
)[24]

ˈvikt VIK TAH (VI VIKTA vik ta

V Victor VIK TAH VĬK tåh VIK ter ˈvɪktɑ
ɑ K TAR) H r

Whiske ˈwisk WISS KEY ( WISSK ouiss  WĬSS WISS

W WISS KEY ˈwɪski
y i OUISS KI) EY ki kēy key

ECK ECK ECKS

ˈeks ECKS RAY ( èkss  ĔCKS ˈɛks(ˈ)
X X-ray S RA S RA RAY EKS ray
ˈrei ÈKSS RÉ) ré rāy re
Y Y [sic][25]

Y Yankee ˈjæn YANG KEY YANG KEY ( YANG yang  YĂNG YANG ˈjæŋki

 KEY KĒY
ki YANG KI) ki kee
[sic][25] [sic]

ˈzuːl ZOO LOO (Z ZOOL zou l ZŌŌ ZOO

Z Zulu ZOO LOO ˈzulu
uː OU LOU) OO ou lōō luu

NAH- ˈnɑ
NAH-DAH- ZE-RO ˈdɑ
DAH-
Zero, n ZE- ZAY-ROH (N
0 ZAY- / ZEE- zi ro Zero ZE-RO ˈze
adazero RO[26] A-DA-ZE-RO)
ROH [27][28]
[ RO ˈro,
27]
ˈziˈro

OO- OO-NAH- WUN (ˈu

One, un ouan Won
1 WUN NAH- WUN (OUNA- WUN Wun ˈnɑ)
aone n (USMC) ˈwʌn
WUN OUANN) [29]

BEE
S- BEES-SOH- (ˈbi
Two, bi
2 TOO SOH TOO (BIS- TOO tou Too TOO ˈso)
ssotwo
- SO-TOU) ˈtu
TOO

TAY-
Three, t TAY-RAH-
TRE RAH- Thuh- (ˈte
3 errathre TREE (TÉ- TREE tri TREE
E TRE ree ˈrɑ)ˈtri
e RA-TRI)
E

KAR- KAR-TAY- (ˈkɑr

Four, k FOW TAY- FOWER (KA FOW- fo eu FOW-
4 Fo-wer ˈte)
artefour -er FOW R-TÉ-FO- ER r ER
EUR)
ˈfoə
ER

PAN- PAN-TAH- (ˈpæn

Five, pa
5 FIFE TAH- FIVE (PANN- FIFE fa ïf Fi-yiv FIFE ˈtɑ)
ntafive
FIVE TA-FAIF) ˈfaɪf

6 Six, sox SIX SOK- SOK-SEE- SIX siks Six SIX (ˈsɔk

 SEE- SIX (SO-XI- ˈsi)
isix
SIX SICKS) ˈsɪks

SAY- (ˈse
Seven,  SAY-TAY-
SEV- TAY- SEV- SEV- ˈte)
7 settese SEVEN (SÉT sèv n Seven
en SEV EN EN ˈsɛvə
ven -TÉ-SEV'N)
EN n

Eight, o OK-
OK-TOH-AIT  (ˈɔk
8 ktoeigh AIT TOH- AIT eït Ate AIT
(OK-TO-EIT) ˈto)ˈet
t AIT

NO- (ˈno
Nine, n NO-VAY-
NIN- VAY- NIN- naï n ˈve)
9 ovenine NINER (NO- Niner NIN-ER
er NINE ER eu ˈnaɪn
[30]
VÉ-NAI-NEU)
R ə

. (de DAY-
cim DAY-SEE-
Decima SEE- dè si  ˈdeˈsi
al MAL (DÉ-SI- (point)
poin
l, point MAL[2 mal ˈmæl
6]
MAL)
t)

Hundre HUN (hundr hun- Hun- ˈhʌnd

00
d -dred ed) dred dred rɛd

TOU-
Thousa (thous taou  Thow- TOU- ˈtaʊ
000 SAN
nd and) zend zand SAND ˈzɛnd
D[26]

- (h
Dash[citati
yph on needed]
en)

. (fu
ll STO STOP (STOP
Stop ˈstɔp
stop P )
)
History[edit]
Prior to World War I and the development and widespread adoption of two-way radio that supported
voice, telephone spelling alphabets were developed to improve communication on low-quality and
long-distance telephone circuits.
The first non-military internationally recognized spelling alphabet was adopted by the CCIR
(predecessor of the ITU) during 1927. The experience gained with that alphabet resulted in several
changes being made during 1932 by the ITU. The resulting alphabet was adopted by the
International Commission for Air Navigation, the predecessor of the ICAO, and was used for civil
aviation until World War II.[17] It continued to be used by the IMO until 1965.
Throughout World War II, many nations used their own versions of a spelling alphabet. The U.S.
adopted the Joint Army/Navy radiotelephony alphabet during 1941 to standardize systems among all
branches of its armed forces. The U.S. alphabet became known as Able Baker after the words for A
and B. The Royal Air Force adopted one similar to the United States one during World War II as
well. Other British forces adopted the RAF radio alphabet, which is similar to the phonetic alphabet
used by the Royal Navy during World War I. At least two of the terms are sometimes still used by UK
civilians to spell words over the phone, namely F for Freddie and S for Sugar.
To enable the U.S., UK, and Australian armed forces to communicate during joint operations, in
1943 the CCB (Combined Communications Board; the combination of US and UK upper military
commands) modified the U.S. military's Joint Army/Navy alphabet for use by all three nations, with
the result being called the US-UK spelling alphabet. It was defined in one or more of CCBP-
1: Combined Amphibious Communications Instructions, CCBP3: Combined Radiotelephone (R/T)
Procedure, and CCBP-7: Combined Communication Instructions. The CCB alphabet itself was
based on the U.S. Joint Army/Navy spelling alphabet. The CCBP (Combined Communications Board
Publications) documents contain material formerly published in U.S. Army Field Manuals in the 24-
series. Several of these documents had revisions, and were renamed. For instance, CCBP3-2 was
the second edition of CCBP3.
During World War II, the U.S. military conducted significant research into spelling alphabets. Major
F. D. Handy, directorate of Communications in the Army Air Force (and a member of the working
committee of the Combined Communications Board), enlisted the help of Harvard University's
Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory, asking them to determine the most successful word for each letter
when using "military interphones in the intense noise encountered in modern warfare.". He included
lists from the US, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, British Army, AT&T, Western Union, RCA
Communications, and that of the International Telecommunications Convention. According to a
report on the subject:
The results showed that many of the words in the military lists had a low level of intelligibility, but that
most of the deficiencies could be remedied by the judicious selection of words from the commercial
codes and those tested by the laboratory. In a few instances where none of the 250 words could be
regarded as especially satisfactory, it was believed possible to discover suitable replacements.
Other words were tested and the most intelligible ones were compared with the more desirable lists.
A final NDRC list was assembled and recommended to the CCB.[31]