Phonetic alphabet explained

Phonetic alphabet can mean:

• Phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing
  • International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): the most widespread such system
  • (See for other phonetic transcription systems)
• Phonemic orthography

an orthography that represents the sounds of a particular language in such a way that one symbol corresponds to each speech sound and vice versa

• Spelling alphabet radio alphabet: a set of code words for the names of the letters of an alphabet, used in noisy conditions such as radio communication; each word typically stands for its own initial letter
  • NATO phonetic alphabet: the international standard (e.g., Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta etc.)
  • (See for other radio-telephony spelling alphabets)