The phonetic alphabet was established to help facilitate communication over radio. Maybe you remember trying to tell someone how to spell your name...countries. For example, if you said your name was 'Jack' and you were quite sure the person o

The phonetic alphabet was established to help facilitate communication over radio. Maybe you remember trying to tell someone how to spell your name by using countries. For example, if you said your name was 'Jack' and you were quite sure the person on the other end could not spell it right, you would go, 'Jamaica America China Korea'.

However there is a proper naming convention to spell words that are been spoken. This is known as the phonetic alphabet. The purpose of having the phonetic alphabet is to facilitate communication. If you were to just say 'N', it is quite possible for the person on the other end to mistake it for 'M', as they sound similar and the quality of the transmission may not be perfect.

So say for example you were communicating over the radio and wanted to say your name, which happens to be Jack, you would go. 'My name is Jack. I spell, Juliet Alpha Charlie Kilo'. Or maybe you wanted to state your location on a map, you would go, 'My Mike Golf Romeo is One Niner Three Two Two Five'. So when you spell certain abbreviations out (They are ALWAYS spelt out as they are alphabets by default), you need to make sure that the person on the other end knows what you are saying.

For example, Victor Mike Tango, means Very Much Thanks, which is said if the person on the other side helps you in some way as a way of appreciation. So its important to remember the phonetic alphabet or have a copy handy so that when you communicate, you would be able to do so effectively. Published on 15 September 2009 on www.nalno.com

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