watcharacters Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 My question is not just related to Thailand but rather regarding all call centers on the planet earth. Just moments ago I got off he phone with Agoda.com at the contact number given for Singapore which is +65 6622 1500. The lady i spoke with was very friendly and helpful to the best of her ability. I'm pretty certain she was not in Singapore as i spoke with her. I'd bet the ranch she was sitting somewhere in India as she talked with me. I have no grief about that and realize the world changes. the only concern I had with our call is it was nearly impossible for me to understand her. I think the call was clear enough but I nevertheless had issues with comprehension. Here's my major issue. I asked for the email address of a hotel where i'd made a booking on the promise of the reservation clerk at the hotel. Two email addresses i'd used proved to be obsolete so I asked the Agoda rep to provide me a good email address for the hotel. AS soon as she started to spell the address i asked her to use the phonetic alphabet. It went over her head so we ended up with her emailing the address. How do you convey the idea of using the phonetic alphabet to representatives at call centers? I've tried saying such things as speaking the letter A and then say as in Alpha and etc but it's all to often to no avail. I've found Indians working in call centers in India speak excellent English. The intonation and accent they have, however, leaves me unsure as to what they said. Again this matter relates to all call centers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 MOVED to telecoms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Its all about training, as in Tango,romeo,alpha,indigo,november,indigo,november,golf. or tap it out - .-. .- .. -. .. -. --. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesquite Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) -- --- ...- . -.. - --- -- --- .-. ... . -.-. --- -.. . ..-. --- .-. ..- -- .-.-.- Edited April 27, 2015 by mesquite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesquite Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) And it is good to learn the phonetic alphabet, not try to make it up on the spot. I once heard a guy say, "P as in pulley" and "S as in sun" Both of those defeat the purpose. Edited April 27, 2015 by mesquite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I would imagine there are variations even within a language. Americans say "ZEE" for Z while others say "ZED" US military uses "ZULU" for phonetic Z, What do UK or Australia use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briley Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 What is wrong with P and in pneumonia and K as in Knight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banzai99 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 And it is good to learn the phonetic alphabet, not try to make it up on the spot. I once heard a guy say, "P as in pulley" and "S as in sun" Both of those defeat the purpose. Exactly, everybody knows it's P as in Pr-ck and S as in Sh-t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Everything you ever need (or don't need) to know;- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I would imagine there are variations even within a language. Americans say "ZEE" for Z while others say "ZED" US military uses "ZULU" for phonetic Z, What do UK or Australia use? Zebra its the "i" that catches many out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 -- --- ...- . -.. - --- -- --- .-. ... . -.-. --- -.. . ..-. --- .-. ..- -- .-.-.- There isnt one, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I would imagine there are variations even within a language. Americans say "ZEE" for Z while others say "ZED" US military uses "ZULU" for phonetic Z, What do UK or Australia use? Zebra its the "i" that catches many out Never heard Zebra in the UK - always Zulu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit_Doggie Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) A Alpha B Bravo C Charlie D Delta E Echo F Foxtrot G Golf H Hotel I India J Juliet K Kilo L Lima M Mike N November O Oscar P Papa Q Quebec R Romeo S Sierra T Tango U Uniform V Victor W Whiskey X X-ray Y Yankee Z Zulu. Is the uk phonetic alphabet. Edited April 27, 2015 by Brit_Doggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 R+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkerry Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 People who speak perfect English and anyone over 18 still have difficulty passing on all but the most obvious (yourname@) e-mail addresses over the phone. I've tried phonetics but a lot of people still don't get it yet I've been told I'm good at speaking clearly and slowly before. Wherever possible I get them to text me with the address or in the case of people who have no idea how to text overseas, I text them and ask them to reply. I don't even ask friends or business associates anymore, if I can get them to text. With any sort of delay on a phone line it all ends up very confusing and ten times worse if English is not their first language... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) I would imagine there are variations even within a language. Americans say "ZEE" for Z while others say "ZED" US military uses "ZULU" for phonetic Z, What do UK or Australia use? Zebra its the "i" that catches many out Never heard Zebra in the UK - always Zulu. It had my waltometer ticking for a while too Isn't this taught at school anymore? I recall having it drummed into me by the age of 14! Edited April 27, 2015 by evadgib Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Zebra is actually from the Royal Navy pre 1956, I accept later usage may have changed to Zulu. I didnt check Military alphabets before 1956 Royal Navy RAF phonetic alphabet U.S. phonetic alphabet 1914–1918 (World War I) 1924–1942 1943–1956 1941–1956Zebra Zebra Zebra Zebra Zebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunHeineken Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 When I go through to a call center in India, and need to use the phonetic alphabet, if there is any problems with their understanding of the standard phonetic alphabet, being a keen cricket supporter, I resort to using the names of famous Indian and international cricket players, or cricket related terms like, T for Tendulkar, D for Dhoni, S for Sharma, P for Ponting, B for boundary etc. We both get a laugh out of it and I get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonto21 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Its all about training, as in Tango,romeo,alpha,indigo,november,indigo,november,golf. or tap it out - .-. .- .. -. .. -. --. "Hello CharlieH, CharlieH This is Tonto21 I repeat....Tango,romeo,alpha, india ,november,india,november,golf..........Over". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Zebra is actually from the Royal Navy pre 1956, I accept later usage may have changed to Zulu. I didnt check Military alphabets before 1956 Royal Navy RAF phonetic alphabet U.S. phonetic alphabet 1914–1918 (World War I) 1924–1942 1943–1956 1941–1956 Zebra Zebra Zebra Zebra Zebra I was born in 1956 and can remember, as a boy, hearing people use the Able, Baker, Charlie... phonetic alphabet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrens54 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) In Australia it is mainly ZEBRA and pronounced as "ZEB-ra". not the American way of "ZEE-bra." Far be it from me to brag, but when my THAI-born daughter was about to start school in Australia, when we moved back there for a few years, I decided to teach her the Phonetic Alphabet. She was 9 years old at the time, she only took a couple of hours of going over it and she was perfect. Back here in CNX, aged 14, she is consistently top of her English class and YES... still remembers and uses the Phonetic Alphabet which at times, I suspect has her teachers scratching their heads, in an effort to keep up with her. Edited April 27, 2015 by Torrens54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuh Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) Phonetic alphabet used by Thais spelling English: [ei æpən] - there is no "as in" between "a" and "apple", if you say "as in" people will not understand you. "Apple" is pronounced Thai style. You can clarify things by saying "toa ei". "B boy" - as always, well known monosyllabics are chosen, don't confuse Thais with things like baker (they know bakery, but they don't know baker) or bravo, C undefined, you can say "c abc" (stress the last c), it helps "D dog" "E england" Many letters don't have a generally accepted definition like "d dog". H is "etch" or "esh", never aitch, people will not understand aitch I is generally [toa ai] Don't use kilo for K, Thais will think of G (kg in Thai is กก) . "K king" may work. "J Japan" is understandable "L London" is understandable ("G Germany" is not understandable, neither is "H Hongkong" or "S Singapore") Educated Thais understand "N Norway". Most Thais do not understand it. Thais do not see a need to distinguish between m and n, don't force the issue. P undefined, educated Thais understand "P Peter". Most Thais do not understand it. Thais do not see a need to distinguish between p and t, don't force the issue. "[ar]" just like you would say it in English "S sugar" "T Thailand" W is "double u" X is "(toa) ek" - don't confuse people insisting on a final s. Better with "toa". Do not start talking about X-rays. Y is "(toa) wai", "toa" is optional. Z is "[zed zi:bra]" Most Thais don't grasp the notion of a phonetic alphabet. But many will get the idea once you say things like "b boy". They will then make up their own words and you may hear things like "n no". Edited April 27, 2015 by uhuh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Presumably their pilots operating in foreign airspace follow the same phonetic alphabet as everyone else? Edited April 28, 2015 by evadgib Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briley Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Just had two calls with Bangkok air - both times their staff used world airports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canda Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Sorry Torrents54, Not sure that zebra was used in Australia, I think you will find that ZULU was used phonetically for Z. Having spent 15+ years with the RAN Signalling division on a daily basis, as Ifar as I know it was used in the other defence forces also, not sure about civil aviation though. Cheers, CANDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Tuft Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 In Australia it is mainly ZEBRA and pronounced as "ZEB-ra". not the American way of "ZEE-bra." Far be it from me to brag, but when my THAI-born daughter was about to start school in Australia, when we moved back there for a few years, I decided to teach her the Phonetic Alphabet. She was 9 years old at the time, she only took a couple of hours of going over it and she was perfect. Back here in CNX, aged 14, she is consistently top of her English class and YES... still remembers and uses the Phonetic Alphabet which at times, I suspect has her teachers scratching their heads, in an effort to keep up with her. Never heard of Zebra being used in the phonetic alphabet in Australia, and I hold a radio operators licence as well as being ex-military and civil aviation licenced. Always Zulu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Tuft Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 A Alpha B Bravo C Charlie D Delta E Echo F Foxtrot G Golf H Hotel I India J Juliet K Kilo L Lima M Mike N November O Oscar P Papa Q Quebec R Romeo S Sierra T Tango U Uniform V Victor W Whiskey X X-ray Y Yankee Z Zulu. Is the uk phonetic alphabet. Is the international phonetic alphabet, not just UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinisaan Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 T like deecha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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