A New Phonetic Alphabet: For those who don't like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, …

Letters (A–Z)

A as in Alpha

A: pref: ate or aubergine; letter: aitch(H), are(R), aye(I); homophone: air(err, heir and Eyre), ait/ate(eight,8-ball), awed(odd), aisle(I'll and isle), aught(ought), auld(old); variants: aerie/airy/eyrie, aesthetic/esthetic; silent initial letter: aesthete; analogue: chemical symbol for Silver (Ag) or Gold (Au); name: Aaron(Erin), Aesop[source (Christina Pila)], Ava(Ewa); [misc.]: any(N.E.), au courant, aubergine, aura, auto(Otto); [note]: aural and oral, although similar, are pronounced differently

B as in Bravo

B: pref: bdellium; silent initial letter: bdellium; description: the insect that makes honey (apian); analogue: 300 in medieval Roman numerals [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)]; [misc.]: baryon number [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)]

C as in Charlie

C: pref: cue or canine; letter: cue(Q); silent initial letter: ctenophora or cnidaria; homophone: catarrh(Qatar), cede(seed), ceiling(sealing), cell(sell), cellar(seller), censor(sensor), cent(sent/scent), cereal(serial), chaos(KAOS), chic(sheik), choir(quire), chute(shoot), cite(sight/site), city(sitee), cling on(Klingon), coal(kohl), coy(koi), crew(krewe), cue(Kew/queue), curd(Kurd), curt(Kurt), or cymbal(symbol); double letter phoneme: chai, charisma, chasm, chorus; variants: caffetan/cafetan/coftan/kaftan, catsup/ketchup, curb/kerb, cashmere/Kashmir?, czar/tsar; analogue: (One) hundred in Roman numerals; name: Caleigh, Carol(Karol), Catherine(Katherine), C. D.[as in C. D. Howe](seedy), Chagas disease, Cher(share), Cheryl(Sheryl), Chris(Kris), Cisco^® [computer networks company](Sysco^® [food services corporation]), Cuba, Cy[as in the late Cy Young](Greek letter psi/sigh) or Cyd [as in the late Cyd Charisse](Sid); [misc.]: canine, ceilidh, celery, chimera, chi (χ and Χ, see also X), cigar or cucumber; [note]: some people prounounce English words that begin with C but are derived from Greek words beginning with Κ with a hard-C (K) sound rather than a soft-C (S-like) sound. One example is cephalopod.

D as in Delta

D: pref: djin or double-U; homophone: djin(gin); analogue: Five hundred in Roman numerals, penny/pence [source(Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)]; letter: double-U; name: Django

E as in Echo

E: pref: ewe or eye; letter: eh(A), eks(X), ewe(U), eye(I); homophone: eye(aye), earn(urn), eight(ait/ate), em (unit), ewe(you, yew), err(air, heir, Eyre), eves(Yves), ewer(your/you're), ex (unit) or eyelet(islet); variants: eyrie/aerie/airy, esthetic/aesthetic, either(with an initial long-E or long-I); analogue: 250 in medieval Roman numerals [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)], former spouse (ex-); name: Eileen (when pronounced with an initial long-E), Ellen, Erin(Aaron), Euler (as in Leonhard Euler), Eugene, Ewa(Ava) [link to pronunciation note (at www.pronouncenames.com)], Eyre (literary character and novel by Charlotte Brontë); [misc.]: eau-de-Cologne, effluent, eider, elbow, elegiac, elevator, embrace, emend, Emmy(M.E.)[as in Emmy Award], envy(N.V.), escalator, eucalyptus (and eukaryote and Eureka etc.), excel(X.L.), excess(X.S.), explain, extra-large(XL), exquisite, euthanasia(youth in Asia), (or earl?); [note]: Euston (the station) and Houston (the municipality), although similar, are pronounced differently

F as in Foxtrot

F: pref: faze; homophone: faro(pharaoh), faze(phase), felt(veld), few(phew), fie(phi), file(phial), fill(Phil), fish(Phish), flocks(phlox); analogue: chemical symbol for Iron (Fe)

G as in Golf

G: pref: gneiss; silent initial letter: gnarl, gnat, gnaw(nah), or gnu(knew/new/nu); homophone: gneiss(nice), gibe(jibe), genes(jeans), gest(jest), gym(jim) or gnu(new/nu/knew); variants: gaol/jail, gel/jell; name: Gennifer [as in Gennifer Flowers] (Jennifer), Geoffrey(Jeffrey), Geri(Jerry)[as in Geri Halliwell], German(Jermyn)[as in London's Jermyn St], Gerry(Jerry)[as in Gerry Adams], Gilles(Jill) [link to sound file with pronunciation (at about.com)], Gzowski [as in the late CBC radio and TV show host Peter Gzowski]; [misc.]: gym(Jim)

H as in Hotel

H: pref: heir; silent first letter: honour, heir or hoard; homophone: heir(air/err/Eyre?), hoard/horde(whored), hole(whole) or hour(our & are); analogue: aspiration(in phonetics), Eta (capital Greek letter η is the same grapheme as H in the Roman alphabet) or chemical symbol for Mercury (Hg); name: Heloise, Hugo; [note]: Euston (the station) and Houston (the municipality), although similar, are pronounced differently

I as in India

I: pref: isle; homophone: isle/I'll(aisle) or islet(eyelet); analogue: One in Roman numerals and on some old typewriters, The perpendicular pronoun from The Skeleton in the Cupboard (an episode of the TV programme Yes Minister by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn) or me; name: Iago, Ida (when pronounced with an initial long-E)

J as in Juliet

J: pref: jai alai or juan; homophone: jeans(genes), jim(gym), jibe(gibe) or jest(gest); [misc.]: jai alai, jojoba, junta; variants: jail/gaol, jell/gel [I didn't think jell was a word but Emily Nussbaum used it in The New Yorker (2013-09-11, p. 85)]; name: Jeffrey(Geoffrey), Jennifer(Gennifer), Jermyn(German)[as in London's Jermyn St], Jerry(Geri/Gerry), Jian[as in musician and former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi], Jill(Gilles), Jim(gym), Jimenez [link to pronunciation note (at www.pronouncenames.com)], Johannes [as in Johannes Brahms], Juan(wan)

K as in Kilo

K: pref: Kew or potassium; silent initial letter: knight, knife, knit, know or knot; homophone: KAOS(chaos)[see Wikipedia's disambiguation page for many meanings of KAOS], kernel(colonel), knave(nave), knead(need), knew(gnu/new/nu), knight(night), knit(nit), knob(nob), knock(nock), knot(not, naught, or nought), know(no), knows(nose), kohl(coal), koi(coy) or krewe(crew); analogue: chemical symbol for Potassium (K); variants: kaftan/caffetan/cafetan/coftan, kerb/curb, Kashmir/cashmere?, ketchup/catsup; name: Kew(cue/queue/Q)[as in Kew Gardens], Klingon(cling on), kneel(Neal/Neil/Niel), knoll(Nöel), Karol(Carol) [as in the late Karol Castillo], and Kris(Chris), Kurd(curd), Kurt(curt); [note]: some people prounounce English words that begin with C but are derived from Greek words beginning with Κ with a hard-C (K) sound rather than a soft-C (S-like) sound. One example is cephalopod.

L as in Lima

L: pref: 50 or pound; [misc.]: Llinás?; analogue: Fifty in Roman numerals [source], pound (Lb. or £)

M as in Mike

M: pref: mnemonic; silent initial letter: mbaqanga or mnemonic; analogue: (One) thousand in Roman numerals; [misc.]: M.E.(Emmy)[as abbrev. for medical examiner e.g.]; [note]: M.T. and empty, although similar, are pronounced differently

N as in November

N: pref: nave or new; silent initial letter: ngultrum [source (Ben Teitelbaum's The Devil's Alphabet website)]; homophone: nave(knave), new/nu (gnu/knew), night(knight), nit(knit), no(know), nob(knob), nock(knock), nose(knows), or not/naught/nought (knot); analogue: Chemical symbol for Sodium (Na); name: Neil/Niel(kneel) [see Dilbert cartoon for 1989-08-01], Noël[as in Noël Coward](knoll); [misc.]: N.E.(any), N.V./NV(envy) [NV is the USPS abbreviation for Nevada]

O as in Oscar

O: pref: ours or zero; homophone: one(won), odd(awed), ought(aught), or ours?(hours); letter: our & are(R); analogue: hug (abbreviation), zero; name: Oedipus, Ouija, Otto(auto); [misc.]: oenophile? oesophagus[source (Malcolm Appleby)], onion?; [note]: aural and oral, although similar, are pronounced differently

P as in Papa

P: pref: pneumonia or urine [if you must]; homophone: phase(faze), pharaoh(faro), phew(few), phial(file), phlox(flocks), Phish(fish)[the musical troupe] psalter(salter), Greek letter Ψ(Cy/sigh); silent initial letter: pneumonia [source (the great Lily Tomlin, of course)], pneumatic, psalm, psalter, psyche or pterodactyl; double letter phoneme: phone or pharoah; analogue: chemical symbol for Lead (Pb), Rho (capital Greek letter ρ is the same grapheme as P in the Roman alphabet), urine(a puerile pun, sorry); name: Phil(fill), Psmith (literary character from P. G. Wodehouse), Ptolemy; [misc.]: p.h.a.t. (abbreviation for pretty hot and tempting)(fat), physics, physique; [note]: phial and vial, although variants of the same word, are pronounced differently

Q as in Quebec

Q: pref: quay; letter: queue(Q); homophone: quay(key), queue(cue/Kew), quire(choir) or qat(cat); analogue: character played by John de Lancie on Star Trek: The Next Generation, etc. or character played by Desmond Llewelyn in many James Bond movies; name: Qatar(catarrh)

R as in Romeo

R: pref: rye; homophone: rap(wrap), reck(wreck)?, rest(wrest), right/rite(wright/write), ring(wring), Ritz(writs), rot(wrought), rung(wrung), rye(wry); letter: R(our & are); analogue: ℞ (prescription) [source (Tristan Miller)], Thursday[abbreviation (incredible but true)]; name: Rennes(wren), Rex(wrecks); [misc.]: like a pirate [stereotypical but funny (to my mind) none the less in much the same way that P can be as in urine]

S as in Sierra

S: pref: see or serial; letter: sea/see(C) or seize(plural of C); homophone: salter(psalter), scent/sent(cent), sealing(ceiling), seed(cede), seedy(C. D.[as in C. D. Howe]), sell(cell), seller(cellar), sensor(censor), serial(cereal), sheik(chic), sight/site(cite), sitee(city), sigh(Cy/Greek letter psi), or symbol(cymbal); analogue: chemical symbol for Tin (Sn) or Antinomy (Sb); name: Sheryl[as in Sheryl Crow](Cheryl), Sid [as in the late Sid Caesar or the late Sid Vicious] (Cyd), Sysco^® [food services corporation] (Cisco^® [computer networks company])

T as in Tango

T: pref: tsunami or tsar; silent initial letter: tsunami or tsar; double letter phoneme: tsar; variants: tsar/czar; name: Taoism[see Derek Lin's prounciation note at taoism.net]

U as in Uniform

U: pref: urn or Uighur; homophone: urn(earn), urine(you're in), use(youse); [misc.]: UConn (abbreviation for University of Connecticut)(Yukon), Uighur, uke?

V as in Victor

V: pref: 5; analogue: Five in Roman numerals [source]; homophone: veld(felt); [note]: phial and vial, although variants of the same word, are pronounced differently

W as in Whiskey

W: pref: why or Tungsten; letter: why(Y); analogue: chemical symbol for Tungsten (W) (aka Wolfram); homophone: wan(Juan), whole(hole), whored(hoard/horde), won(one), wrap(rap), wrest(rest), wring(ring), wright/write(right/rite), writs(Ritz), wrought(rot), wrung(rung), or wry(rye); silent initial letter: whole, whored, wrangle, wrap, wreak, wreck, wrest, wright, wring, write, writs, wrought, wrung or wry?; name: Weber[as in Max Weber], wren(Rennes), Wyoming

X as in X-ray

X: pref: xenophobia; homophone: X.L.(excel), X.S.(excess); analogue: XL (extra-large[abbreviation]), Ten in Roman numerals, kiss (abbreviation) also 50 proof, strike etc. [see The Free Dictionary's What does X stand for ? for many meanings of the abbreviation X] Greek letter Chi (see also C); name: Xenon; [misc.]: xenophobia or xylophone

Y as in Yankee

Y: pref: Ypsilanti or you; letter: you(U); homophone:yew/you(ewe), your/you're(ewer) or youse(use); analogue: Upsilon (capital Greek letter υ is the same grapheme as Y in the Roman alphabet); name: Yukon(UConn: abbreviation for University of Connecticut), Yves(eves), Yvette or Yvonne; [misc.]: Ypsilanti, Yttrium or Ytterbium

Z as in Zulu

Z: pref: zhoosh or 2000; [misc.]: zee?, zhoosh[source (Wikipedia (20 March 2018, at 13:26))], zhuyin zimu? (or zhuyin), Zoque, zwieback?, zwitterion?; name: Zhivago [source (Tristan Miller)]; analogue: atomic number (in Chemistry), impedance (in Physics), 2000 in medieval Roman numerals (Chamber's Dictionary, 12^th ed.)

Digits (0–9)

0: nun; Oh; the operator
1: past of to win
2: half a ballet dress
3: as in three for a dollar?; III (Roman numeral sounds somewhat like the exclamation Aye Yai Yai)
4: what people yell on a golf course; IV (Roman numeral sounds like abbreviation for intervenous)
5: as in the number of pins in five-pin bowling???; V (Roman numeral)
6: Latinate sex???; A Greek hex???
7: as in lucky number …; as in Seven ate nine
8: eaten
9: not in German