Memorize English Phonetic Spelling With Me

Posted July 22, 2010 | Laura Christianson

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)

A    Alpha
B    Bravo
C    Charlie
D    Delta
E    Echo
F    Foxtrot
G    Golf
H    Hotel
I     India
J    Juliet
K    Kilo
L    Lima
M   Mike              
N    November
O    Oscar
P    Papa
Q    Quebec
R    Romeo
S    Sierra
T    Tango
U    Uniform
V    Victor
W   Whisky
X    X-ray
Y    Yankee
Z     Zulu

Anyone have other great memory devices to share?

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18 responses to “Memorize English Phonetic Spelling With Me”

  1. […] 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 […]

  2. […] 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 […]

  3. Beth Willis Miller says:

    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

  4. Beth Willis Miller says:

    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

  5. 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.”