Spelling alphabet

Any suitable words can be used in the moment, making this form of communication easy even for people not trained on any particular standardized spelling alphabet.

Many (loosely or strictly) standardized spelling alphabets exist, mostly owing to historical siloization, where each organization simply created its own.

A large number of spelling alphabets have been developed over the past century, with the first ones being used to overcome problems with the early wired telephone networks, and the later ones being focused on wireless two-way radio (radiotelephony) links.

Often, each communications company and each branch of each country's military developed its own spelling alphabet, with the result that one 1959 research effort documented a full 203 different spelling alphabets, comprising 1600 different words, leading the author of the report to ask: Should an efficient American secretary, for example, know several alphabets—one for use on the telephone, another to talk to the telegraph operator, another to call the police, and still another for civil defense?

This alphabet was the origin of phrases such as "ack-ack" (A.A. for anti-aircraft), "pip-emma" for pm and Toc H for an ex-servicemen's association.

The RAF developed their "telephony spelling alphabet", which was adopted by all three services and civil aviation in the UK from 1921.

It was later formally codified to provide a word for all 26 letters (see comparative tabulation of Western military alphabets).

By 1942, the U.S. Army's radiotelephony spelling alphabet was associated with the International Code of Signals (ICS) flags.

Uniquely, the 1908 Tasmanian telegraph operator's code was designed to be memorized as follows:[11] Englishmen Invariably Support High Authority Unless Vindictive.

In World War I battle lines were relatively static and forces were commonly linked by wired telephones.

After WWII, the major work in producing a better spelling alphabet was conducted by the ICAO, which was subsequently adopted in modified form by the ITU and IMO.

[39] The APCO first suggested that its Procedure and Signals Committee work out a system for a "standard set of words representing the alphabet should be used by all stations" in its April 1940 newsletter.

1967[42] The FCC regulations for Amateur radio state that "Use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged" (47 C.F.R.

[45][46] The official ARRL alphabet changed over the years, sometimes to reflect the current norms, and sometimes by the force of law.

In rules made effective beginning April 1, 1946, the FCC forbade using the names of cities, states, or countries in spelling alphabets.

[52] In German, Alfa-Echo (ae) may be used for "ä", Oscar-Echo (oe) for "ö", Sierra-Sierra (ss) for "ß", and Uniform-Echo (ue) for "ü".

[56][57] Åke is used for "å" Ärlig for "ä" and Östen for "ö" in the Swedish spelling alphabet, though the two-letter substitutes aa, ae and oe respectively may be used in absence of the specific letters.