There are just some Wisconsin-related words that people butcher: Chequamegon forest, Lake Butte des Morts, Lac Courte Oreilles tribe and even Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. So our friend and co-worker, Jackie Johnson, decided she was tired of it and wanted to give newcomers, tourists and even natives a resource to find the correct pronunciation. She recently started the Web site MissPronouncer.com, which features recordings of her pronouncing Wisconsin’s 190 cities, 400 villages and 1,260 towns. She also pronounces names of judges, famous Wisconsin people, like Brett Favre, state officials and legislators. [JSOnline]
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I asked our co-worker Andrew Beckett, an Illinois transplant, if Wisconsin has a greater number of difficult to pronouce place names. He didn’t hesitate; “definately.” It’s the French and Native American influence.