# Please help me create an un-phonetic alphabet.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 27, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117 "2007-08-27T17:13:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/1 "2007-08-27T17:13:52Z")
As a counterpoint to the [phonetic alphabet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) which exists to make communication clearer, I would like to develop the un-phonetic alphabet in order to increase confusion. I am looking for words beginning with silent letters, one for each letter of the alphabet (‘m’ as in mnemonic, ‘p’ as in psychology, ‘x’ as in xenophobic, etc) Do 26 such words exist?
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### Author:  [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/2 "2007-08-27T17:24:54Z")
A = aesthetic
C = czar (similarly, tsar for T)
G = gnome
K = know
S = any “sh” word – or is that too close to how S is pronounced?
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/3 "2007-08-27T17:31:50Z")
H = honorary
I = I Ching
J = Jalapeno
T = This
O = Ouija
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/4 "2007-08-27T17:36:37Z")
D as in djinni
H as in herb
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/5 "2007-08-27T17:46:28Z")
[QUOTE=JKellyMap]
H as in herb
[/QUOTE]
That only works in some dialects of English: better is:
H as in hour
Also
B as in dumb
N as in damn
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### Author:  [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/6 "2007-08-27T17:52:02Z")
For maximum confusion:
G as in Ghadafi
K as in Kaddafi
Q as in Quadaffi
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/7 "2007-08-27T17:52:45Z")
W as in Whom
X as in Xylophone
Y as in Ypsilanti
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### Author:  [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/8 "2007-08-27T17:55:34Z")
[QUOTE=Giles]
B as in dumb
N as in damn
[/QUOTE]
The OP specified the word has to \*start \* with a silent letter.
B as in bdellium
Can’t think of an N yet.
M as in mnemonic
P as in psychology
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### Author:  [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/9 "2007-08-27T17:58:57Z")
The last name Nguyen for N, maybe?
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### Author:  [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/10 "2007-08-27T18:02:32Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends]
The OP specified the word has to \*start \* with a silent letter.
[/QUOTE]
yeah, but with your username, I would have let you be the one who’s allowed to cheat a little. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/11 "2007-08-27T18:08:48Z")
[QUOTE=tdn]
H = honorary
I = I Ching
J = Jalapeno
T = This
O = Ouija
[/QUOTE]
Several of those aren’t silent letters.
T as in tmesis (by one accepted pronunciation, anyhow)
E as in eiderdown
Also how is the x is “xylophone” or “xenophobic” silent? It is voiced, as a Z sound. A quick skim through the X section of my direction shows no “silent X” words.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/12 "2007-08-27T19:32:30Z")
Ah, so I missed the “silent” part.
People goof up letters all the time. I had a user call me a while back and she couldn’t sort out her own name:
I asked: M as in Mary?
_No, Kathleen._
M as in Kathleen?
_No, my first name is Kathleen._
No, no… Is the last letter of your ID M?
_Yes, my middle name is Mary._
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### Author:  [@Micro\_Dot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Micro_Dot)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/13 "2007-08-27T19:39:09Z")
I love to do this with my brother:
When I talk to him on the phone and want to spell out something I will use words with silent letters.
The model number you want to buy is “P” as in “Phoebe”, “C” as in “Cue”, “G” as in “gnome”
Hah! But he’s a good sport about it.
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/14 "2007-08-27T19:40:33Z")
[anti-phonetic alphabets](http://www.google.com/search?q=anti-phonetic+alphabet&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/15 "2007-08-27T19:55:43Z")
P as in Phoenix.
Not silent, but sure as hell does not sound like a P
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### Author:  [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/16 "2007-08-27T20:10:05Z")
P - pneumonia
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/17 "2007-08-27T20:11:12Z")
[QUOTE=Micro Dot]
“C” as in “Cue”
[/QUOTE]
😕
So, for you, “cue” and “you” are homonyms?
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### Author:  [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2007, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/18 "2007-08-28T05:09:14Z")
B as in ‘banana’. Well, no, the B isn’t silent, but it is a confusing word (for second-graders to spell) - and better yet, it’s a silly word.
I doubt that there are any words that start with a silent B (doubtless we could come up with many that have silent Bs in them).
On review, bdellium - sure, okay.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-create-an-un-phonetic-alphabet/417117/19 "2007-08-28T09:29:47Z")
Most of the letters in the surname _Featherstonehaugh_ are silent or pronounced intuitively (if you hear the name spoken, it’s ‘Fanshaw’).
G (and H, I guess) as in Eight