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The NATO spelling alphabet, Alfa, Bravo, Charlie and so on, exists because single letters are easily lost over a noisy radio: 'B' and 'D', for example, sound almost the same through static. Its final version was agreed in 1956 and is still used around the world.

Historical fact (NATO phonetic alphabet)

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The story behind the card

Before it, the US armed forces used the 1941 'Able, Baker, Charlie' alphabet, which suited only English speakers. After the Second World War the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations body for civil flying, worked with Jean-Paul Vinay, a linguist at the University of Montreal, to find words pilots of any language could say and hear, and a new list was adopted in 1951. Tests with speakers from 31 nations then showed problems, such as 'Nectar' being mistaken for 'Victor'. In 1956 five words were replaced: 'Coca' became 'Charlie', 'Metro' became 'Mike', 'Nectar' became 'November', 'Union' became 'Uniform' and 'Extra' became 'X-ray'. NATO adopted the list that year, and it has hardly changed since.

Türkçe oku
Alfa, Bravo, Charlie diye başlayan NATO fonetik alfabesi, telsizde tek başına söylenen harfler kolayca birbirine karıştığı için doğdu: cızırtılı bir hatta “B” ile “D” neredeyse aynı duyulur. Listenin bugünkü hâli 1956'da kesinleşti ve o günden beri bütün dünyada kullanılıyor.

Bundan önce ABD ordusu 1941'de kabul edilen “Able, Baker, Charlie” alfabesini kullanıyordu; bu alfabe yalnızca İngilizce konuşanlara uygundu. İkinci Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra Birleşmiş Milletler'in sivil havacılık kuruluşu olan Uluslararası Sivil Havacılık Örgütü (ICAO), Montreal Üniversitesi'nden dilbilimci Jean-Paul Vinay ile birlikte her dilden pilotun rahatça söyleyip anlayabileceği kelimeler aradı ve 1951'de yeni bir liste kabul edildi. Ardından 31 ülkeden konuşmacılarla yapılan denemeler aksaklıkları ortaya çıkardı; örneğin “Nectar” ile “Victor” karışıyordu. 1956'da beş kelime değişti: “Coca” yerine “Charlie”, “Metro” yerine “Mike”, “Nectar” yerine “November”, “Union” yerine “Uniform”, “Extra” yerine “X-ray” geldi. NATO listeyi aynı yıl benimsedi; o günden bu yana liste neredeyse hiç değişmedi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: NATO phonetic alphabet
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