Neo-NATO Alphabet

      The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is a terribly impractical tool for civilians. It is a great tool, but it was designed, and evolved for a specific purpose and that purpose makes it confusing for civilians and lay people to use.

      The NATO Alphabet was designed and honed over decades, for military use in military situations. On top of this it is an international code. It is meant to be used by native and non-native English speakers. These two things combined are why we really should stop using it for civilians.

      You know the “niner” joke people make in movies? That exists because of the German word Nien, meaning no. See how Nine and Nien might be confusing in a tense battlefield situation? Niner is how that problem gets fixed. Some people are aware of Niner and that it means the number 9, but that some is not a large number. Now, I have made the niner jokes millions of times and a few films have made use of it as well.

      We start there because it is the easiest way to discuss the language aspect of the issue here. NATO started in 1949 with most of Western Europe and North America. Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland got together to try and prevent anther war Europe and propagandize again Communism. And we aren’t diving into the politics of it. The real important issue is how many different countries and languages are involved there. We’ve have about nine languages going no there. And while English is the dominant one, you had native speakers of other languages there so you have to be clear across the various languages.

      I am not sure if you are aware of, but most American’s only speak English. This gap here is tough. Just look at this list of variations of the name John. It was only in the last few weeks that I realize Sean was a version of John. Its pronunciation makes a bit more sense now. American is weird in that we are a polyglot nation, while most of the nation is decidedly not.

      I am also not sure if you know how few Americans have served in the Military. In the post-Vietnam, no draft ear of the American Military, it is estimated that about 6% of Americans have served, or are currently serving, in the military. That is not a lot. What it means is the vast majority of Americans are not familiar with the NATO Alphabet. Sure people know of it and know a few letters. But the level of familiarity needed for it to be a functional tool does not exist.

      Now imagine talking to someone who has never been in the military or any para-military, or emergency response organization. Imagine being the poor person on the phone trying to book someone’s recall appointment for their car. There are a lot of letter’s mixed in with the numbers of a car’s VIN. Are you really going to day niner? No, you’ll just say 9 because it is easier and clearer.

      So what is the answer? Use names! It is was countries with independent militaries use. Even in a country as big and diverse as the US, names are far easier to use than random words picked to balance out military needs and people who are ESL from several different native tongues. It is what Russia, Finland, and Sweden all do/did for their military. City names also work and is what used to be used for civilian air traffic (page 275-3) prior to the prominence of the NATO Alphabet.

      To be clear, I am not opposed to the NATO Alphabet. It is an incredible tool that fills a very specific and complex purpose. It was honed and tweaked for decades for this purpose. But for the average American, it is not a functional tool for communication in alpha-numeric situations. Just use names or cities, please. You will save yourself and the other person a ton of hassle.