Alabama Pronunciation and Spelling Guide

The following charts show the pronunciation for the Alabama language orthography we have used on our site, as well as some alternate spellings that you may find in other books and websites.

Vowels

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Say It:
a		a ~	Like the a in father or the a in what.
aa	a:, a·	a	Like the a in father, only held longer.
i		I	Like the i in pit.
ii	i:, i·	i	Like the i in police.
o		o ~	Like the o in note or the u in put.
oo	o:, o·	o	Like the o in note, only held longer.

Diphthongs

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Say It:
ay		aj ~ ej	Like the English word eye or like the ay in day.

Consonants

Character We Use:	Sometimes Also Used:	IPA symbol:	How To Say It:
b		b	Like b in bill.
ch	c, č	t ~ ts	Like ch in chair. Some speakers pronounce it more like the ts in tsunami.
f		f ~ φ	Like the f in English fair. Some Alabama speakers pronounce this sound bilabially, without touching the upper teeth to the lower lip.
k		k^h	Like k in kite.
l		l	Like l in light.
ł	th, lh, hl	ł	This sound is a lateral fricative that doesn't really exist in English. The Alabama pronunciation sounds like the "ll" in the Welsh name "Llewellyn." Some English speakers can pronounce it well if they try to pronounce the "breathy l" in the word clue without the c in front of it.
m		m	Like m in moon.
n		n	Like n in night.
p		p^h	Like p in pie.
s	š, sh		Like s in sing, only pronounced apically (giving it more of a whistling sound than an English s.)
t		t^h	Like t in tie.
w		w	Like w in way.
y	i	j	Like y in yes.

Double Consonants

When an Alabama word is spelled with double letters, like hissi (hair) or mikko (chief), the consonant must be pronounced with double length. For an English speaker, the easiest way to pronounce a consonant with double length is to imagine a word break between the two consonants. The s sounds in "dress suit" are pronounced like the ones in hissi, and the kc sounds in "book-case" are pronounced like the ones in mikko.

Alabama Pronunciation and Vocabulary Resources

   Alabama words
   Alabama animals
   Alabama body words
   Alabama colors
   Alabama numbers
   The Alabama alphabet
   Muskogean languages
   Southeast Woodlands languages
   Alabama tribes
   Alabama legends

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