The NATO Alphabet in Pictures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yankee

The term 'Yankee' means different things to different people, but for most of the world, it is a general term used to refer to anyone from the United States. If you're from the United States themselves, the term can be much more precisely used. E.B. White, author of 'Charlotte's Web', wrote an aphorism illustrating this point.

'To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.'

How accurate that statement is can only be judged by someone from the US! The meaning has changed over time, with Yankee once being used to refer only to people of the New England region whose ancestry could be traced back to the original English settlers. In the 1770s, the term was used in the United Kingdom to refer to anyone from the States, while in the US itself, it was used only for New Englanders.

So where did the word Yankee come from? It's still being argued about, but one theory comes from a pejorative term English settlers had for Dutch dairymen in the new colony. The dairymen would be called John Cheese which, when translated into Dutch, equated to Jan Kaas, pronounced 'Yan Kees.' Another theory is that Yankees is derived from the Dutch nickname of Janneke or Janke, meaning Johnny.

It may have started as a nickname or a slur, but Yankee is embedded into the psyche of the world as a term for a United States citizen, and 'Yankee Doodle' is the state song of Connecticut.

Answer: Delta

The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, delta, is a triangle when written in upper case as illustrated in the photo. The mouths of many rivers around the world take on a triangular shape as they discharge the water they carry, hence the name for that part of a river is a delta, even if not triangular.
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While many people call it the NATO alphabet, it's properly known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet. Another name for it is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic or spelling alphabet. The most commonly used alphabet, it's used by military and paramilitary forces, civil aviation bodies and other organisations. It was developed in the 1950s to facilitate standard communication between various groups from different nations. Many organisations had used different alphabets so finding a common one was imperative to aid communication and prevent incongruence and misunderstandings during crucial communications.

Answer: Tango

The tango is a dance which has its origins in Latin America, particularly along the Rio de la Plata. From its humble beginnings in Argentina and Uruguay, the tango spread around the world, diversifying into different styles and interpretations. Starting in the 1890s in the poorer regions of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, it was partially influenced in style by ceremonial practices amongst former slaves in the area. Its popularity soared with Italian migrants and its seductive style spread around the world.

The most original form of tango can still be seen along the Rio de la Plata and the tango remains an important part of the culture of the two nations. The tango's status as a dance has led UNESCO to declare the tango is part of the world's 'intangible cultural heritage'. Despite it being 'intangible' as per UNESCO, the word 'tango' is derived from the Latin word 'tango' meaning 'to touch'.

Tango is one of two dances in the NATO alphabet, the other being the foxtrot.

Answer: Lima

When using the NATO alphabet, 'Lima' is pronounced 'Lee mar' rather than 'lie mar' as in the beans.

Lima, the capital of Peru, is just one town or city with the name, but it's certainly the most well-known. If you include the populace of the entire Lima Metropolitan Area, including the seaport of Callao, the population is around the nine million mark (2013). Lima has been an important city since its founding in 1535 by the Spanish. Once Peru became an independent nation, Lima became its capital. Found on Peru's coastal plain, Lima covers about 800 km2 (310 sq mi) and within its boundaries lies the oldest, continuously operating university of the Americas. The National University of San Marcos was founded in 1551, a mere 16 years after the city was established.
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The first phonetic alphabet of this type was used by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) in 1927. Phonetic alphabets were used in WWII to aid communication, but different countries used different codes. It wasn't until the 1950s that American and British forces used the same alphabet i.e. the NATO alphabet.

The Royal Air Force used this alphabet from 1924-1942: Ace, Beer, Charlie, Don, Edward, Freddie, George, Harry, Ink, Johnnie, King, London, Monkey, Nuts, Orange, Pip, Queen, Robert, Sugar, Toc, Uncle, Vic, William, X-ray, Yorker and Zebra.

Meanwhile, the US phonetic alphabet was slightly different: Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, Fox, George, How, Item, Jig, King, Love, Mike, Nan, Oboe, Peter, Queen, Roger, Sugar, Tare, Uncle, Victor, William, X-ray, Yoke and Zebra.

The only common words are Charlie, George, King, Queen, Sugar, Uncle, William, X-ray and Zebra. Of those nine common words, only two remain in the NATO alphabet of today - Charlie and X-ray.

Answer: Whisky

Whiskey is the spelling most commonly seen in NATO alphabetic charts, but whisky is also a valid spelling of this distilled, alcoholic drink. Like wine, there are many different types of whisky made around the world, the classification of the drink dependent on the substance used to make the drink, the method of production and the aging process.

Whisky is made from grain mash which has undergone a fermentation process. Grains such as wheat, barley, corn or rye can be used. While made in copper or stainless steel stills, the character of whisky is largely formed by aging the distilled product in wooden barrels, the wood imparting some flavour traits into the drink and altering its chemistry.

Answer: India

India is the world's seventh largest country and has the second highest population with over one billion people. It shares a land border with the most populated country (China) and several other countries, namely Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The name India came originally from the Sanskrit word 'Sindhu' which denoted the Indus River, a major river in India.

The national bird of India, the peacock, is a member of the pheasant family native to India. The male is known for his stunning plumage (as seen in the photo) while the female, known as a peahen, is a drab grey to brown colour. The peacock is seen in Hindu culture as the animal the lord Karthikeya rode as the god of war. Should you see a white peacock, it's not an albino. The snow-white plumage is a result of a genetic mutation which results in white feathers, but other features of an albino animal (pink eyes and white skin) aren't present.

Answer: X

In November, 1895, a German physics professor named Wilhelm Röntgen discovered a new kind of ray. X-rays, the 'X' standing for unknown, could pass through human flesh but not bone or metal. The first guinea pig for these x-rays was Mrs Röntgen whose hand was examined in an x-ray. Less than two months after Röntgen's discovery, these rays were used in a medical application when a needle became embedded in an English doctor's hand.

From those simple beginnings developed the modern world of radiology which now encompasses examinations such as angiography (as seen in the photo), CT scanning, MRI imaging, fluoroscopy and ultrasound.
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Speakers from over thirty countries took part in thousands upon thousands of tests which allowed the developers to decide which words would work most effectively in the phonetic alphabet. The words must be able to be read and spoken by speakers of varying languages, no matter what sort of accent they may have.

Answer: Kilo

Kilo is a prefix used to denote a thousand units. It could mean one thousand grams i.e. a kilogram, as shown in the photo. It could refer to one thousand watts of electricity delivered to your home. A kilometre is one thousand metres. Ascending prefixes and their meanings after kilo are mega (a million), giga (a billion), tera (a trillion), peta (a quadrillion), exa (a quintillion), zetta (a sextillion) and yotta (a septillion)!

French chemist Antoine Lavoisier and his research group agreed to use this system for denote various measurements in 1795. Four years later, France was introduced to the metric system which used terms such as kilometre and kilogram.

Answer: Alpha

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the first word of the NATO alphabet. It's used in many fields of science and mathematics, and in sociological terms, it denotes the most dominant member of a group e.g. the alpha male of a wolf pack. For the purposes of the phonetic alphabet, alpha is spelt 'alfa' as speakers of some languages wouldn't recognise the 'ph' as an 'f' sound. The word alpha has its roots in the Phoenician word 'aleph', meaning 'ox'.

Spelling for the phonetic alphabet is generally done in the accepted English fashion but there are exceptions. In addition to 'alfa' being spelt with an 'f' rather than a 'ph', Juliett is spelt with two Ts. This is due to the French pronunciation of Juliet: with one T, it would be pronounced without the 't' sound (as in 'chalet'). With two Ts, the 't' is pronounced, making the word uniform amongst users of the alphabet. Whiskey is frequently spelt with an 'e', rather than without the 'e' as would be done in England and Scotland.

Answer: Victor

Victor is a male name (the feminine form being Victoria), a term for a winner of a competition, and a word in the NATO alphabet. The word and name came to English from the Latin 'vincere' (which meant 'conquer'), via the Anglo-Norman French word 'victo(u)r'.

There have been three Pope Victors (Victor I, II and III) and two Antipope Victors (both Victor IV). The name has also been carried by Victor Borge (Danish entertainer), Trumper (Australian cricketer) and Viktor Kuznyetsov (Ukrainian athlete). There are also six towns in the USA named Victor.
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The NATO alphabet isn't the only alphabet of its type in the world. Many US police departments including the San Francisco Police Department, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the California Highway Patrol use the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) phonetic alphabet which travels from Adam to Zebra. Some departments may make slight alterations to the LAPD alphabet e.g. using Nora instead of Nancy for 'N'.

Answer: Golf

Many people associate golf with Scotland as it is the home of the modern game of golf as we know it, but golf's origins go much further back in time. The ancient Romans played a game called paganica which involved the use of a stick to strike a ball made of leather. Between the 8th and 14th centuries in China, a game similar to modern golf, involving hitting a ball into a hole with a stick, was playing in the Imperial court.

Golf is one of a few sports in which the playing area varies from venue to venue. Each hole on each course varies, dependent on the golf course designer's vision and the natural terrain of the region.

Answer: Papa

The words 'mama', 'papa' and words like them are found in many languages which have little or no connection to each other. 'Mama' as a word for mother can be found in languages as diverse as English, Swahili, Quechua, Polish and Mandarin, while 'nana' is Fijian for mother, and 'ana' is the Turkish equivalent. The French for father is 'papa', and in Persian it's 'baba'.

It's thought that words such as these have developed from the first proper attempts at speech babies perform. It's easier for a baby to produce the open vowel 'a' (as in papa) and sounds such as 'm', 'p' and 'b', so words such as mama and papa develop early on.
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When it comes to numbers, there is a divergence between organisations. The ICAO and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration in the USA) use standard words for numbers (zero, one, two etc.) with four words having their pronunciations changed slightly (tree, fower, fife and niner). The ITU and IMO (International Maritime Organization) use a different system for numbers. From zero to nine, the numbers are: nadazero, unaone, bissotwo, terrathree, kartefour, pantafive, soxisix, setteseven, octoeight and novenine.

Answer: Echo

An echo is a sound which is reflected off a surface and comes back to the listener to be heard again. The word 'echo' comes to English from Old French and Latin, and originally the Greek word ēkhō, meaning a sound. There is the Greek myth of Echo, a mountain nymph who was overly fond of her own voice.

She would relate stories to Hera, Zeus' wife, while Zeus conducted illicit relations with some of Echo's fellow nymphs. To punish Echo for being complicit in Zeus' activities, Hera condemned Echo to only being able to repeat the words of others. Echo later fell in love with Narcissus, a handsome, young man hunting stags. Narcissus failed to return her admiration, leaving Echo to pine away until only her voice remained.

Answer: Uniform

English has used the word uniform since the mid-1700s, though it comes to English via French and originally Latin. Uniforms, distinguishing clothing worn commonly by employees of an organisation, are seen in many fields of work, and by school students in many countries.

At Oxford University (UK), all students attending an exam must wear their academic gown and cap, and a certain standard of clothing which includes a dark suit and socks, black shoes, a plain white, collared shirt, and a black tie or white bow tie. If you're in the UK military forces, you are permitted to wear your uniform underneath your academic gown during your examination at Oxford. Cambridge University had similar requirements but this regulation was dispensed with. One might think that students would rebel against such regulations, but a vote by the student body at Oxford in 2006 opted, by a strong majority, to maintain the tradition, a uniform of sorts.

Answer: Hotel

While not given the name 'hotel' until much later, facilities similar to hotels were available in ancient civilisations. Inns along major travel routes provided a bed and food for the human travellers, and stabling and feed for the horses. The origins of the word 'hotel' can be found in the French word 'hôtel' which was used for a place more similar to a hospital than a hotel. Travellers, particularly those on a pilgrimage, could find comfort and shelter in these establishments, but many establishments provided care for the poor who were ill and/or dying, especially the indigent or those without family to care for them. Spiritual comfort was a mainstay of their care, along with the patients' physical needs.