THE INSIDER: Anyway you spell it, this word spells trouble
WITH xenophobia arguably one of the most used but hated words in SA at the moment, spelling it correctly is important. To do so, you need to know the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, generally known as the phonetic alphabet, if you are dictating something to a person taking notes on the other end of the phone. Thus xenophobia would be: "X for X-ray, E for Echo, N for November, O for Oscar, P for Papa, H for Hotel, O for Oscar, B for Bravo, I for India, A for Alpha."Most journalists, unfamiliar with the phonetic alphabet, prefer to make up their own phonetic alphabet as they spell out words over the phone. So you get this sort of thing in newsrooms: "Spell his name, please." "MBALULA: M for Mango, B for Balls, A for Apple, L for Loquacious, U for Understand, L for Lekker, A for Anything. Got it." "Okay, I repeat: M for Minister, B for Bull, A for Apple, L for Love, U for Understand, L for … for Lucky, A for … for … Ass." You got it?"It’s a lot more fun overhearing some...
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