Dialog with alphanumeric codes using the military alphabet

DeadlyAccurate · Jun 11, 2009

OK, that subject line is probably confusing, but what I mean is, if a character is saying something like, "Alpha golf one niner five, come in, please," how do you write it?

"AG195, come in, please."
"Alpha Golf one niner five, come in, please."
"Alpha-golf-one-niner-five, come in, please."

Or something else I haven't thought about. Can't find an answer in my style guide book.

ETA: And would you capitalize the military letters regardless of where they appeared in the book?

Manix · Jun 11, 2009

DeadlyAccurate said:
OK, that subject line is probably confusing, but what I mean is, if a character is saying something like, "Alpha golf one niner five, come in, please," how do you write it?

"AG195, come in, please."
"Alpha Golf one niner five, come in, please."
"Alpha-golf-one-niner-five, come in, please."

Or something else I haven't thought about. Can't find an answer in my style guide book.

ETA: And would you capitalize the military letters regardless of where they appeared in the book?

I'd go with the last example, separated by hyphens. Be consistent throughout the book, everywhere you use them. The written out version is not only correct, in a literary sense, but it adds so much flavor to the dialogue, that you'd lose with mere numbers.

Ludka · Jun 11, 2009

Agree with Manix.

dpaterso · Jun 11, 2009

Hyphens, so clunky. I vote for "Alpha Golf One Niner Five, come in, please."

-Derek

DeadlyAccurate · Jun 11, 2009

Thanks, all!

Duncan J Macdonald · Jun 12, 2009

Be careful with you time period and nationalities.

Before 1957, for example, the US Military used:
Able
Baker
Charlie
Dog
Easy
Fox
George
How
Item
Jig
King
Love
Mike
Nan
Oboe
Peter
Queen
Roger
Sugar
Tare
Uncle
Victor
William
X-ray
Yoke
Zebra

ComicBent · Jun 12, 2009

alphanumeric "stuff"

Don't use the hyphens.

Hyphens should be used when necessary, and they really are not necessary here.

blacbird · Jun 12, 2009

Either of the last two would work for me (I was in the military, BTW). But definitely spelled out.

caw

Team 2012 · Jun 12, 2009

"Come in, Roger Fox Dogs"
"Man that Roger is a weird dude"
Firesign Theater

DeadlyAccurate · Jun 25, 2009

I'm sorry, I missed that there were updates to this thread. Thanks for the help. Fortunately, my book is set in the future, so I don't have to worry about anachronisms (though now that I think about it, I might consider changing a few of them since the language evolves).

Dialog with alphanumeric codes using the military alphabet

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

Manix

Mutatis mutandis

Ludka

Hath more hair than wit

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

Duncan J Macdonald

Plotting! Not Plodding!

ComicBent

blacbird

Team 2012

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed