Do you ever find yourself spelling out names, emails, or part numbers over the phone? For example, whenever I relay my email address over the phone, I have to carefully distinguish M versus N in “MONOMER BIO”. If so, I have a tool for you.
The NATO phonetic alphabet was designed for spelling out letters in noisy situations like military radio. It maps code words to letters from Alpha for A to Zulu for Z. But who actually wants to memorize all those antiquated code words? Foxtrot for F. If you’re like me, you might struggle to quickly come up with alternative words on the spot.
That’s where the emoji phonetic alphabet comes in. I propose a mapping of letters to emojis with names that are easy to recall and made a little web app to accompany it.
To quote Glengarry Glenn Ross’ A-B-C’s
A – Always
B – Be
C – Closing
Always be closing.
Imagine if Alec Baldwin had said
Apple banana cactus. Always be closing.