Memorize English Phonetic Spelling With Me
When I’m listening to the radio, the hosts and advertisers often rattle off website addresses so quickly that I can’t figure out what they said.
You may have experienced the same problem during phone conversations, when spelling a name or address.
Whenever this happens to me, I guess at a word to substitute for the letter. And I end up sounding stupid when I say things like, “P is for… er… potato. Or is it panda?… or preposition?
I’ve decided it’s time to memorize the English Phonetic Spelling (also called the NATO Phonetic Alphabet). A phonetic alphabet is a list of spoken words substituted for letters of the English alphabet. It helps prevent confusion between similar-sounding letters (m and n) and to clarify potentially garbled transmission.
If you don’t already have this list memorized, I invite you to join me in this quest. Someone suggested to start by spelling your name, than your company or address. Soon, you’ll know the whole alphabet!
I’m starting with my first name, Laura: Lima Alpha Uniform Romeo Alpha
English Phonetic Spelling (Print and carry it with you)
AÂ Â Â Alpha
BÂ Â Â Bravo
CÂ Â Â Charlie
DÂ Â Â Delta
EÂ Â Â Echo
FÂ Â Â Foxtrot
GÂ Â Â Golf
HÂ Â Â Hotel
IÂ Â Â India
JÂ Â Â Juliet
KÂ Â Â Kilo
LÂ Â Â Lima
M  Mike           Â
NÂ Â Â November
OÂ Â Â Oscar
PÂ Â Â Papa
QÂ Â Â Quebec
RÂ Â Â Romeo
SÂ Â Â Sierra
TÂ Â Â Tango
UÂ Â Â Uniform
VÂ Â Â Victor
WÂ Â Whisky
XÂ Â Â X-ray
YÂ Â Â Yankee
ZÂ Â Â Zulu
Anyone have other great memory devices to share?
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BarbaraScott, Laura Christianson. Laura Christianson said: I invite you to memorize English phonetic spelling (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) with me. Alphabet chart on my blog – http://ht.ly/2dCU9 […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BarbaraScott, Laura Christianson. Laura Christianson said: I invite you to memorize English phonetic spelling (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) with me. Alphabet chart on my blog – http://ht.ly/2dCU9 […]
Hi Laura! Here are four great memory devices or mnemonic cue words, phrases or sentences to encode and retrieve information.The first two examples are for a list of items that must remain in a certain order, and the second two examples are for a list of items that can be shuffled around.
The colors of the visible light spectrum:
LIST: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
CUE WORD: ROY G. BIV
The order of math operations:
LIST: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction
CUE PHRASE: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
The names of the Great Lakes:
ORIGINAL LIST: Erie, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario
REORGANIZED LIST: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
CUE WORD: HOMES
The names of American authors:
ORIGINAL LIST: Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman
REORGANIZED LIST: Irving, Poe, Whitman, Twain, Sandburg
CUE PHRASE: I Paid Way Too Soon
Blessings,
Beth Willis Miller
Blog: http://www.bethwillismiller.blogspot.com
Hi Laura! Here are four great memory devices or mnemonic cue words, phrases or sentences to encode and retrieve information.The first two examples are for a list of items that must remain in a certain order, and the second two examples are for a list of items that can be shuffled around.
The colors of the visible light spectrum:
LIST: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
CUE WORD: ROY G. BIV
The order of math operations:
LIST: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction
CUE PHRASE: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
The names of the Great Lakes:
ORIGINAL LIST: Erie, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario
REORGANIZED LIST: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
CUE WORD: HOMES
The names of American authors:
ORIGINAL LIST: Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman
REORGANIZED LIST: Irving, Poe, Whitman, Twain, Sandburg
CUE PHRASE: I Paid Way Too Soon
Blessings,
Beth Willis Miller
Blog: http://www.bethwillismiller.blogspot.com
Thanks, Beth! I know “Roy G. Biv,” and my hubby is a math teacher, so I always hear him talking about “Please Excuse My Deal Aunt Sally,” but the others are new to me. I need to memorize the names of the Great Lakes in case I ever go to New York and end up on the “Cash Cab” game show!
In Seattle, we have a mnemonic for the order of the major streets downtown: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine: “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest.”
Thanks, Beth! I know “Roy G. Biv,” and my hubby is a math teacher, so I always hear him talking about “Please Excuse My Deal Aunt Sally,” but the others are new to me. I need to memorize the names of the Great Lakes in case I ever go to New York and end up on the “Cash Cab” game show!
In Seattle, we have a mnemonic for the order of the major streets downtown: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine: “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest.”
From 3rd Grade Science:
My Very Energetic Mother Just Serves Us Nine Pickles
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto (Which, sadly, is now just a big floating rock in space. Poor Pluto. I include him here for nostalgic reasons.)
Yea, Mrs. Walters!!
From 3rd Grade Science:
My Very Energetic Mother Just Serves Us Nine Pickles
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto (Which, sadly, is now just a big floating rock in space. Poor Pluto. I include him here for nostalgic reasons.)
Yea, Mrs. Walters!!
I wish everyone knew the phonetic alphabet because it's so easy to use when you're trying to spell something out with someone–like tech support! I know it from my experience as an Air Force officer and it makes things a lot easier.
The tricky one is Quebec for Q. It's actually pronounced, Kay-beck which brings a round of laughter to the uninitiated ones 🙂
Dennis Brooke. Blogging about Almost True Stories of Life at http://www.dennisbrooke.wordpress.com
I wish everyone knew the phonetic alphabet because it's so easy to use when you're trying to spell something out with someone–like tech support! I know it from my experience as an Air Force officer and it makes things a lot easier.
The tricky one is Quebec for Q. It's actually pronounced, Kay-beck which brings a round of laughter to the uninitiated ones 🙂
Dennis Brooke. Blogging about Almost True Stories of Life at http://www.dennisbrooke.wordpress.com
Ooh, that's a good one, Jenn! Isn't it amazing the strange things we remember from 3rd grade?
Ooh, that's a good one, Jenn! Isn't it amazing the strange things we remember from 3rd grade?
You are so right, Dennis. I had another experience today, when I was giving directions over the phone to someone who's attending a workshop I'm teaching. I said, “D as in Dog.” Oops. Forgot that “D is for Delta.”
You are so right, Dennis. I had another experience today, when I was giving directions over the phone to someone who's attending a workshop I'm teaching. I said, “D as in Dog.” Oops. Forgot that “D is for Delta.”
Here is how I do it.
1) Groups of four
2) Make up a crazy sentence for each group.
3) Of course, the Yankees – just SUCK!
Bravo for Charlie, he flew on Delta instead of Alpha.
I heard the echo of a foxtrot from my hotel as I played golf.
Juliet bought a Kilo of Lima beans from India.
Mike’s papa won an Oscar in November.
Romeo and Sierra did the tango in Quebec.
Victor’s x-ray showed whisky on his uniform.
Hey Zulu, the Yankees, they just SUCK!
Here is how I do it.
1) Groups of four
2) Make up a crazy sentence for each group.
3) Of course, the Yankees – just SUCK!
Bravo for Charlie, he flew on Delta instead of Alpha.
I heard the echo of a foxtrot from my hotel as I played golf.
Juliet bought a Kilo of Lima beans from India.
Mike’s papa won an Oscar in November.
Romeo and Sierra did the tango in Quebec.
Victor’s x-ray showed whisky on his uniform.
Hey Zulu, the Yankees, they just SUCK!
Aaah… it took me a while to figure out what you're doing. That's a good way to memorize the phonetic alphabet — make up zany sentences that contain the letter names. Memorizing them in groups of four makes it easy. If I wasn't already married, I'd marry you!
Aaah… it took me a while to figure out what you're doing. That's a good way to memorize the phonetic alphabet — make up zany sentences that contain the letter names. Memorizing them in groups of four makes it easy. If I wasn't already married, I'd marry you!