Phonetic Alphabet

It is really important to be able toPhonetic Alphabet spell out something so others can understand you.  That is why the military uses the following words to make letters understandable.  Many letters in our alphabet sound similar, like “D” and “T” and “C” and “E” and “Z”,  but they don’t sound at all alike when you say DELTA and TANGO and CHARLIE and ECHO and ZEBRA.  Believe it or not, many people who work in offices use these on a regular basis to spell out things like e-mail address and when booking travel itineraries.

I shouldn’t laugh but just today I overheard someone spelling out a word and she said “Iguana” for the letter “I”.  Of course, the person on the other end ddidn’t even know what letter “Iguana” started with so there was a bit of confusion.  It sure would have been easier if she used the International Alphabet.  Give the International Alphabet a try while spelling out your name.

Pig Latin

Pig

This is a great way for kids to talk to each other without anyone knowing what they are saying (caution to kids, many parents used this secret language when they were kids so they will be able to pick up on what you are saying pretty quickly – so ask them. “Hey mom and dad, did you talk Pig Latin when you were kids?” If they look confused then you are safe.)

It is so easy to learn Pig Latin since it’s really just saying English words in a different way. Here is how it works. Pick a word, take the first letter off the word and put it on the end of the word and then add “ay” to it. That’s all you do. Simple (or implesay in Pig Latin). With a little practice you can be really fast at this. Give it a try with your name and the names of your friends. For example: Robert becomes Obertray, Paul becomes Aulpay, Nancy becomes Ancynay, you get the idea. Have fun practicing this one with your friends and then you can talk with them in secret code without anyone else knowing what you are saying. How cool is that?!?

Morse Code

Radio Telegraph

Every kid should know a little about Morse code. This language was devised so that messages could be sent using a Telegraph machine. You see, long before there were phones, people would send messages using a machine called a Telegraph which could make only two sounds: a short beep, which they called a dot, and a long beep which they called a dash. By using these two sounds in sequence, they communicated using Morse code. You can, too.

Morse Code

The absolutely, positively most important thing to know in Morse code is S.O.S. If you learn nothing else, you should learn these two letters. This is critical information for every kid and every Adult. Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. If you are tapping it to someone it’s three short taps, pause, three long taps, pause, three short taps. Go on and give it a try. This has become the international symbol for help.
A good game to play is hangman using Morse code. Yes it’s difficult but it’s fun and good practice. Give it a try and see how much fun it can be.