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View synonyms for phonetic alphabet

phonetic alphabet

noun

  1. an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.


phonetic alphabet

noun

  1. a list of the words used in communications to represent the letters of the alphabet, as in E for Echo, T for Tango
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of phonetic alphabet1

First recorded in 1860–65
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Example Sentences

It is evident that the use of a phonetic alphabet will make havoc of the ordinary spelling to be learnt subsequently.

The use of a phonetic alphabet is the only way to perform this double work rapidly, rationally, and with the minimum of confusion.

But how was this to be effected with a language which, like Chinese, had no phonetic alphabet?

They gave the phonetic alphabet to mankind and it seems not unlikely the knowledge of iron as well.

It is interesting as one of the stages of an art which culminated in the invention of a phonetic alphabet.

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