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

Here are 11 South Carolina places that almost nobody says correctly on the first try, along with the commonly accepted pronunciations:

1. Abbeville – AB-uh-vil or AB-ee-vil
2. Cayce – KAY-see
3. Chapin – CHAY-pin
4. Chappells – CHAP-uhls (sounds like “chaples”)
5. Guignard – GIN-yard or GIN-yurd (local variations)
6. Hamer – HAY-mur
7. Horry – OR-ee (drop the “h” sound)
8. Lancaster – LANK-uh-stur (not “LAN-cas-ter”)
9. Mount Croghan – MONT-cro-gun (with a soft “g”)
10. Sumter – SUMP-tur (with a subtle “p” sound, often dropped in writing)
11. Sans Souci – san-SOO-see (from French, meaning “worry-free”)

Many of these place names have French origins or local twists, making them tricky for outsiders and even new residents to get right. Locals are passionate about preserving their traditional pronunciations, which often differ from what the spellings suggest.

SOURCES

(https://www.sciway.net/ccr/sc-pronunciations.html)(https://beaufortdistrictcollectionconnections.blogspot.com/2008/05/correct-mispronunciations-of-some-south.html)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsAyKqsObjc)
(https://www.sciway.net/ccr/sc-pronunciation-guide.html)
(https://uscpress.com/Correct-Mispronunciations-of-South-Carolina-Names)