Dialects Of Alabama
The archive provides:
In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).
The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages, Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage), and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings), may be accessed from the menu bar to your right.
To access IDEA's sound files and documents, you will need an mp3 player, and Acrobat Reader, available free from Acrobat Reader.
If you are interested in specific information about the State of Alabama,
please go to its official website
at www.state.al.us
For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here
please go to
Other Dialect Services
Dialect Samples
To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To do so, right-click on the desired sample and save it. A high-speed connection to the internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it.| Sound Sample | Basic Information | Text Files |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama One | White male, twenties, theatre student, Birmingham, AL | Alabama One |
| Alabama Two | White female, twenties, theatre student, Birmingham, AL | Alabama Two |
| Alabama Three | White, female, born 1950, born and raised on a farm in Northeast Alabama, college educated | Alabama Three |
| Alabama Four | African-American, female, born 1928, born and raised in Chambers County, Alabama, retired office administrator | Alabama Four |
| Alabama Five | White, male, student,born 1980, born and raised on a farm in Brewton, Alabama | Alabama Five |
| Alabama Six | white, male, student, born 1981. Raised in Elberta, Alabama | Alabama Six |
| Alabama Seven | White, male, student,born 1988, Auburn, Alabama | Alabama Seven |
| Alabama Eight | African-American female, born 1934, Auburn, Alabama, retired, mother of four sons. | Alabama Eight |
| Alabama Nine | African-American female, born 1942 and raised Tuskeegee, Alabama. | Alabama Nine |
| Alabama Ten | White female, born and raised Lanett, Alabama | Alabama Ten |
| Alabama Eleven | African-American male, 20, born and raised Montgomery, Alabama | Alabama Eleven Transcription |
| Alabama Twelve | African-American male, born and raised Birmingham, Alabama. A careful speaker concerned with "good speech" | Alabama Twelve |