Is there an Alternative to The Phonetic Alphabet?
Whether you are working on Land, Sea or in the Air, if your job requires you to communicate on a Transceiver Radio at any given stage, i.e.: A Fixed or Portable handheld radio that is able to transmit and receive, then you will need to fully understand the Phonetic Alphabet in order to be able to communicate on frequency in a professional, and unambiguous manner.
Because the Phonetic Alphabet has only been constructed Internationally using English as the official language on frequency, it can prove to be particularly difficult to learn and apply for native language speakers from countries across the globe.
There is no set theme to follow in the construction of each letters phonetic meaning and, at a glance, each word that has been chosen appears to be very random in application. One thing for sure however is that the use of the Phonetic Alphabet in radio communication does ensure that things such as a person`s Accent do not cause confusion through the correct application thereof.
Although this Article is in support of the Phonetic Alphabet, one has to ask the question: `IS there not a better alternative to the application of Phonetic Alphabet on frequency? After all, this is just a man-made process that has been in place for many years now, to date, and has just been accepted from generation to generation as the norm and only acceptable means of Alphabet translation.
The following are three of the more common suggestions received by you, the readers in a recent survey we conducted regarding this query:
- Spell each word using the conventional A, B, C……… letters of the Alphabet
- Repeat each transmission twice for Clarity purposes
- Ask the receiving party/ies to readback every transmission that has been made to ensure that it has been understood correctly
In each of these 3 proposals, one thing that definitely stands out is time wastage. Although each of them could work, the application thereof would most certainly delay all parties involved, which in an emergency situation could most certainly mean the difference between Life and Death!
In a world where the Next Generation in Technological advance is moving at a speed that most of us thought would never happen in our lifetime, it is clearly evident that the application of the Phonetic Alphabet is a tried and trusted procedure, and that we all therefore need to fully understand its benefits in utilisation, so that we all continue to apply it as it was intended for communication purposes.
If you are currently learning the Phonetic Alphabet and need some assistance with this, why not follow the link below and attempt our free online course covering this fascinating subject:
https://www.udemy.com/course/the_phonetic_alphabet/?referralCode=6EC0720305237C747C44
Keen to share your input on this subject, please email dylan@talkingradio.net