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# Letters in Dictation Mode

You can say the names of letters in Dictation mode but using Spelling mode instead is more reliable (because Spelling mode knows that you are probably saying the name of a letter) and has a wider range of things you can say.

### Letters

In Dictation mode, an individual letter (as opposed to known acronyms and abbreviations) must be entered using the International Radio Alphabet. This is intended primarily for when the letter name is itself a word.

A initial (a capital letter followed by a period) may be entered by saying Capital or Uppercase followed by the name of the letter. You can pronounce the letter’s name normally or use the International Radio Alphabet. Thus, for example, to dictate “L. M. Montgomery,” you can say Capital L, Period, Uppercase M, Period Montgomery.

An acronym (a series of capital letters without any spaces or periods in between) may be entered using successive initials. Thus, for example, to dictate “HAL 9000,” you can say Capital H, Capital A, Capital L, Nine Thousand.

Here are the International Radio Alphabet letter names:

What You Say
Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
Xray
Yankee
Zulu

### Diacritical Letters

A diacritical letter is a letter with a marking above or below it.

Spelling mode has a wider repertory of diacritical letters and is recommended.

The following phrases, all involving the International Radio Alphabet, enter diacritical letters in Dictation mode:

What You Say | Result
--- | ---
Alpha-Accent-Acute | á
Alpha-Accent-Circumflex | â
Alpha-Accent-Grave | à
Alpha-Accent-Tilde Alpha-Tilde | ã
Alpha-Accent-Umlaut | ä
Alpha-Ring-Above | å
Charlie-Accent-Cedilla | ç
Echo-Accent-Acute | é
Echo-Accent-Circumflex | ê
Echo-Accent-Grave | è
Echo-Accent-Umlaut | ë
India-Accent-Acute | í
India-Accent-Circumflex | î
India-Accent-Grave | ì
India-Accent-Umlaut | ï
November-Accent-Tilde | ñ
Oscar-Accent-Acute | ó
Oscar-Accent-Circumflex | ô
Oscar-Accent-Grave | ò
Oscar-Accent-Tilde | õ
Oscar-Accent-Umlaut | ö
Oscar-Oblique-Stroke | ø
Uniform-Accent-Acute | ú
Uniform-Accent-Circumflex | û
Uniform-Accent-Grave | ù
Uniform-Accent-Umlaut | ü
Yankee-Accent-Acute | ý
Yankee-Accent-Umlaut | ÿ

### Ligatures and Non-Latin Letters

You can say the following ligatures and non-Latin letters in Dictation mode:

What You Say | Result
--- | ---
A E Diphthong A E Ligature | æ
O E Diphthong O E Ligature | œ
Eszet German Sharp S | ß
S With Caron | š
Icelandic Eth | ð
Icelandic Thorn | þ