There are many different phonetic alphabets out there, for various applications including telecom, military etc. A variety are covered here.

I’m fascinated with what a hodgepodge the English language is and how often the spelling or pronunciation of its words are counter-intuitive. In appreciation, here’s a start at the Non-Phonetic Alphabet:

A as in Aoxomoxoa, aurulent
C as in Cthulhu
E as in eugenics
G as in gnostic, gnarly, gnome, gnat
H as in honor, hour, herbivore
K as in knife, know, knob, knot
M as in mnemonic
O as in ouroboros
P as in psychotic, pneumatic, psalm, pterodactyl
S as in seedy
T as in tsunami
W as in wrestle, wrong, write, whole
X as in xylem, xenophobe, xantham


Many thanks to Christine for great contributions.