Spelling out names and weird words

The NATO phonetic alphabet

All organisations and professions develop their own obscure jargon. The Church has had two thousands years in which to collect a dictionary of specialised words to explain the Christian experience of the world around us.

When you speak to the media, remember journalists may be unacquainted with many of these words. So always try to use plain language and avoid jargon.

However, there may be times when you have no alternative to using an unfamiliar word. Explain clearly what it means and make sure the journalist knows how to spell it. For instance, the priest who leads a cathedral service is a precentor not a presenter.

A good word alphabet can help your listener to identify quickly and clearly the correct spelling of difficult or little known words or names.  When speaking to a journalist over the telephone, there is none better than the internationally accepted “Alpha, Bravo, Charlie ... X-Ray, Yankee, Zulu” alphabet. 

Commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet (see above), it is formally adopted by The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  While the alphabet is described as phonetic, it actually serves to identify spelling rather than pronunciation.  

This word spelling alphabet was developed in the 1950s to be intelligible over poor-quality radios to all NATO allies, especially in the heat of battle.  It replaced other earlier phonetic radio alphabets.

Words were assigned to the letters of the English alphabet so that critical combinations of letters could be understood by aircrew and air traffic controllers regardless of their native language. The words were chosen to be as distinctive as possible to limit the risk of confusing them.

Without these carefully chosen words some letters, such as D & T, B & P and M & N, are easily confused.  So learn the word alphabet by heart and avoid making up your own words.  “B-bobby” and “P-poppy” confuse rather than clarify. 

Today the word spelling alphabet is widely used in business and telecommunications across Europe and North America. Reporters use it in their spoken news despatches and the police use it to spell out names and car numbers.  It could help you to help a journalist write a clearer and more accurate story about your church.

© Owen Spencer-Thomas

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