I had to get something ironed out on a financial account. So I called the company. As part of their convenient 75-step verification process they wanted to verify my last name. I then heard something like the following from the customer rep:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s \u2018S\u2019 as in Stochastic, \u2018T\u2019 as in \u2018Troposphere, \u2018 \u2018E\u2019 as in \u2018Euclidian,\u2019 \u2018V\u2019 as in \u2018Vulpecula,\u2019 \u2018E\u2019 as in \u2018Erudition\u2019, \u2018N\u2019 as in \u2018Nanoparticle,\u2019 and \u2018S\u2019 as in \u2018Serendipitous.\u2019 Is that the correct spelling, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
Uh, I\u2019ve got no idea. You lost me at \u201cVulpecula.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verbally transmitting letters of the alphabet has long been problematic, especially over radio frequencies and phone lines. It\u2019s easy to mistake one letter for another. It\u2019s also easy for a letter to fall through the aural cracks entirely.<\/p>\n
Various \u201cphonetic alphabets\u201d have been developed to address this problem. A phonetic alphabet is just a standardized list of words that are used in place of their corresponding letters. For example, the word \u201cNovember\u201d can be used to signify the letter \u201cN\u201d because that\u2019s what \u201cNovember\u201d starts with.<\/p>\n
This approach puts some meat on a letter\u2019s bones and it makes it easier to identity by ear.<\/p>\n
The only phonetic alphabet I\u2019ve used is the one used in the U.S. military. It\u2019s also the standard for international aviation. It\u2019s often called the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) phonetic alphabet.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not trying to sell anyone on the notion of using this, or any other, phonetic alphabet. I did, however, have a banker ask me to publish it so she could use it as a quick reference.<\/p>\n
A long time ago an accountant asked me for the same thing. I had taken her flying in a helicopter. She heard the control tower frequency over her headset and she noted how succinct the communications were.<\/p>\n
An old-timer in the Navy told me that this phonetic alphabet was developed to be pronounceable by speakers of various languages, notably NATO countries. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s true, but it certainly is plausible. I have heard these words pronounced in really thick accents all over the world and they were recognizable.<\/p>\n
Anyway, if you ever need to verify your name on your mutual fund account, vector a rescue helicopter to your coordinates, or, depending on how your portfolio is doing, accomplish both tasks at the same time, here\u2019s the ICAO phonetic alphabet:<\/p>\n
Alfa
\nBravo
\nCharlie
\nDelta
\nEcho
\nFoxtrot
\nGolf
\nHotel
\nIndia
\nJuliet
\nKilo
\nLima (\u201clee-ma\u201d)
\nMike
\nNovember
\nOscar
\nPapa
\nQuebec (\u201ckeh-beck\u201d)
\nRomeo
\nSierra
\nTango
\nUniform
\nVictor
\nWhiskey
\nXray
\nYankee
\nZulu<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll go on beyond Zulu for a moment and mention a term that ties in with it. In aviation and military circles, \u201cZulu\u201d is a common name for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or its fancier incarnation and name, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Saipan\u2019s time zone is Zulu time plus 10 hours. Even a slob like me can remember \u201cZ+10,\u201d so this notion is a useful trick.<\/p>\n
Got that? Great. So, until next time, I hope you have a great Whiskey Echo Echo Kilo Echo November Delta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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