We almost all use it in the Netherlands, names for letters that are otherwise difficult to understand for others. Yet most people know that this is the telephone alphabet. But what does the telephone alphabet actually mean and what exactly does it look like? In addition to the Dutch telephone alphabet, is there also another alphabet that helps us with spelling, also called a spelling alphabet?
The telephone alphabet
The telephone alphabet is an alphabet used to make the pronunciation of letters clearer. In the Netherlands, the telephone alphabet consists of agreed names for each letter of the alphabet. By mentioning these names everyone should understand which letter it concerns. The name telephone alphabet comes from the idea that letters are often more difficult to understand through the telephone. For example, during a telephone conversation it is common to mention the initials of your name around the letters of your zip code with the names from the telephone alphabet. For example, if your zip code is 1200AB, you pronounce this over the telephone as 1200 Anton Bernard. Ultimately, the telephone alphabet is not only used by the telephone, the telephone alphabet is also a frequently used way to clarify which letters you exactly mean in direct conversations where people do not always understand each other well.
This is what the Dutch telephone alphabet looks like
In the Dutch telephone alphabet, each letter of the alphabet has been assigned a name that starts with this letter. The Dutch telephone alphabet looks like this:
A AntonB BernardC CornelisD DirkE – EduardF FerdinandG GerardH HendrikI IsaakJ JanK KarelL LodewijkM MarieN NicoO OttoP PieterQ QuotiënR RudolfS SimonT TheodoorU
UtrechtV
VictorW
Willem
Changing Dutch telephone alphabet
In the 21st century you see that more and more people use other, often more modern, names to indicate letters. For example, Piet is regularly said for the P instead of Pieter. And for the T instead of Theodoor, Theo. These new names are generally accepted.
The use of the Dutch telephone alphabet
The telephone alphabet is accepted everywhere in the Netherlands as an alphabet for pronouncing the letters of the normal Dutch alphabet. In many other countries they have their own telephone alphabet to clarify the pronunciation of letters. Different professional groups also have their own, sometimes even secret, telephone alphabet.
International telephone alphabet
In addition to the Dutch telephone alphabet, there is also an international telephone alphabet. Naturally, you cannot use the Dutch telephone alphabet when conversing in English, as a foreigner will not understand that. In these cases you can use the international telephone alphabet, which uses the place names of internationally known cities. The only similarity between the Dutch and the international telephone alphabet is the letter X, which is pronounced Xantippe. The international telephone alphabet is as follows:
A – AmsterdamB – Baltimore
C – CasablancaD – DenmarkE – EdisonF – FloridaG – GallipoliH – HavannaI – ItaliaJ – JérusalemK – KilogrammeL – LiverpoolM – MadagascarN – New YorkO – OsloP – ParisQ – QuébecR – RomaS – SantiagoT – TripoliU – Uppsala
W – Valencia
W – WashingtonX – XantippeY – YokohamaZ – Zurich
Different spelling alphabet
In addition to the Dutch telephone alphabet, there are also other ways to spell letters, this is called a spelling alphabet. For example, pilots use an international spelling alphabet, especially for aviation. The army and, for example, international train drivers and other fields also use their own spelling alphabet to pronounce letters clearly. my view on