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#2 (permalink) Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:06 am International alphabet? |
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Hi,
I can inform you that the international alphabet is used in most international and local firms, and is used more then for what you described.
Kind regards,
JJ |
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JJ Guest
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#3 (permalink) Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:17 am Then vs. than |
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JJ, you probably mean more than you described? I've often seen people mix up then with than. If you know so much about international firms and how to use the English alphabet you certainly also can distinguish between then and than? _________________ Life is for living. |
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Nicole I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 157 Location: Bern, Switzerland
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#4 (permalink) Fri Jan 20, 2006 13:32 pm International alphabet? |
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| Openmind wrote: |
| Hi, at school we learned the international alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, etc.). Now I'd like to know whether this is used by native speakers. Let's say you are purchasing something over the phone - mail order company etc. They want you to spell your name. Do you use the international alphabet then? Thanks. |
The average person on the street doesn't have these words memorized. It's pretty conventional in the US that when talking on the phone, for example, we say, "A as in apple, B as in boy, C as in cat, D as in dog," but after D we start getting confused and there's no particular word anyone uses. People usually say, "P as in Paul, V as in Victor," and other than that you just use any clear word you want.
Once I called the UK, and instead of saying "A as in..." and then the word, they said, "A for..." For some reason this confused me for a few seconds, and I didn't understand the lady. |
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Jamie (K) Guest
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#5 (permalink) Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:26 am International alphabet -- nato alphabet |
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It just occured to me that it might be a good idea to post the NATO alphabet (the international alphabet) here so that everybody knows what we are talking about:
- A - ALPHA
- B - BRAVO
- C - CHARLIE
- D - DELTA
- E - ECHO
- F - FOXTROT
- G - GOLF
- H - HOTEL
- I - INDIA
- J - JULIETT
- 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 -WHISKEY
- X - XRAY
- Y - YANKEE
- Z - ZULU
By the way, I often have met young Germans who served the Bundeswehr -- the German Federal Armed Forces and they all learn to use the NATO alphabet. _________________ Test Of English for International Communication TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 10051 Location: EU
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#6 (permalink) Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:36 pm International alphabet? (Who uses the NATO alphabet?) |
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In everyday life we don't use it. If a letter we speak over the phone is confusing, we say "B as in boy", "C as in cat", "P as in Paul", "V as in Victor", "Z as in zebra", etc. for confirmation. The ones I've just given are pretty standard, but we make some of them up on the spot.
If you got on the phone and told someone "bravo, charlie, papa, zulu", the American on the other end probably wouldn't know what you were doing. There are probably even Americans who don't know what Zulu means, just as there are some Americans who think New Mexico is in Mexico. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#8 (permalink) Sat Jun 10, 2006 18:13 pm International alphabet -- nato alphabet |
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Hi, well I am now cofused what had NATO to do with this?? It is commonly used at sea in radio communication and probably was recognized by IMO ( international maritime organization ) and it is a part of standard maritime vocuabulary well know English phrases at sea ( no by native English speakers they ignore it and they so and so are hard learning /teaching material) any Admirality Publication was using this but is it really common on land ?? Sometimes I use it by mistake when calling somebody for spelling but my expierence was poorly and people were doing mistakes and finally final I was forced to use Popular Names like Adam Barby etc.
Regards Jan promise to write more correctly in future now too busy |
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Jan I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: At sea
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