We Dare You to Say These 11 Alabama Places Correctly on Your First Try (Spoiler: You Can’t)

Here are 11 Alabama places you likely can’t say correctly on your first try, with their proper pronunciations:

1. Guin — pronounced like “Gwin” (not as it looks).
2. LaFayette — said “La-FAY-it” or “Luh-FET,” differing locally.
3. Mobile — pronounced “Moh-BEEL,” not like the cell phone.
4. Arab — pronounced “AY-rab,” not like the Middle Eastern ethnicity.
5. Conecuh County — said “Cuh-NECK-uh.”
6. Dauphin Island — pronounced “Daw-fin,” not “dolphin.”
7. Helena — pronounced “Huh-LEEN-ah,” not “Hell-EE-nah.”
8. Loachapoka — said “Low-cha-poke-ah.”
9. Pintlala — pronounced “Pent-la-la.”
10. Oneonta — typically said “Wuh-NON-tuh.”
11. Talladega — pronounced “Tuh-LAD-uh-guh” or simply “Dega” by locals.

These place names can be tricky for visitors because they reflect local history and pronunciations that aren’t obvious just from reading the spelling aloud.

SOURCES

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xbwyKHDJUE)
(https://wtug.com/15-of-alabamas-hardest-to-pronounce-town-names/)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6EL18mVeqQ)(https://www.reddit.com/r/Alabama/comments/xxhokg/alabama_cities_pronunciation_spelling/)(https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/saying-8-alabama-town-names-144416838.html)