wisconsin city names hard to pronounce

It's the first name that often comes to mind when one thinks of hard-to-pronounce place names in Wisconsin. This is a common mistake so don't stress yourself too much. "They got as far as Eleva, and so that became the name of the town!" Oconomowoc, Waukesha and Mukwonago are a few that topped the list. But what was perhaps more interesting was the way the responses were laced with a sort of reverence toward many of Wisconsin's more intricate-sounding towns and cities. Its residents have plenty to boast about. Do you know how to pronounce all of these town names? Most Wisconsinites will know that this northeastern town is pronounced “Shaw-no” and not “Shaw-ah-no” or “Shay-wah-no”. But it is far from the only place in the Badger State with a hard-to-pronounce … Wisconsin is home to all kinds of hard-to-pronounce places, from Antigo, Ahnapee, and Allouez to Weyauwega, Wyocena, and Wonewoc. If you’ve had trouble figuring out how to pronounce these Native American names in the area, maybe this surface-level explanation helps make you feel a bit better about mispronouncing these words! Don’t be that person. “I’ve heard Ray-cine and Ruh-cine and each side will argue that the other side is wrong.”. Tyngsborough: With a population of over 11,000 the Middlesex County community can be hard for some people to say because of the “Y” in the name. To actually learn the correct pronunciations, check out this website I happened upon while writing and reading for this blog: http://www.sco.wisc.edu/pronounce-wisconsin/pronouncewisconsin.html. Wisconsin native: “Pronounce that word.” (Waukesha) Maybe it's all those O's that make Oconomowoc quite the tongue-twister for visitors. (Do you pronounce TE-le-vi-sion or te-le-VI-sion?). The fact that my English-speaking tendencies prime me for guessing just adds to the difficulty. We all once pronounced epitome like “eh-pi-tohm” or placebo like “place” and “bo” at one time in our lives, right? 3. It can be hilarious to witness. "From an economic development tourism standpoint, it's a challenge," Duffy said. Do you think YOU can pronounce these Wisconsin towns? 35 photos. Apps said. During this time, visitors to the yet-to-be-named village assumed that the "Eleva" painted on the structure was the village's name. Me: “Win-a-cone” In fact, Wisconsin is rich in odd names — or at least names that seem odd to non-Wisconsinites. If I knew the pattern, it wouldn’t be so much of a guessing game! Clubhouse Live: Packers John Kuhn, Eddie Lacy play HWDYK? Oconomowoc (Waukesha County) So there are probably hundreds of hard-to-pronounce Native American town names in Wisconsin, but Oconomowoc is one of my favorites because it stumps every single out-of-towner. How to say Wisconsin. Being a linguistics major and not being from Wisconsin, this place is a pronunciation nightmare. Hopefully, it’s sufficient enough for me to just say that patterns exist. There are many more specifics that go behind this blog that I don’t touch on. Video by Mike De Sisti Just when you thought you knew a lot about the United States – maybe you've been visiting or studying there for quite some time – you realize that there are some cities that you are pronouncing incorrectly. Knowing this, my frustration at the difficulty of pronunciation makes a little more sense: the stress assignment of any of these words is based on a stress pattern that I am not familiar with. Getty Images. 1. "You can tell in a minute people who are not familiar with our names. Dane County's Rockdale was named because the village was situated in a valley between two rock ridges, according to the book "The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names" by Robert Gard. And in at least one case, a Wisconsin name came about as a result of an unfinished 19th-century construction project — or so the legend goes. Wisconsin pronunciation. *Disclaimer that I’m not a historian or an expert in linguistics. Were you able to correctly pronounce any of the Wisconsin city names? Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. But for those who may not be familiar with the Midwest’s naming convention, these Texans have one heck of a time. Wisconsin is a state located in the Midwestern United States.As of April 1, 2010, there were 190 cities in Wisconsin. Instead, we’re taking a look at Canadian place names that are so hard to pronounce, so hard to roll off our tongues, we’d rather be forced to say “Saint-Louis-du-Ha! For example, Potawatomi = … “I think most people, rather than be offended, smile and think ‘That’s my place, that’s my hometown, I know how to pronounce it and here’s my opportunity to tell people about it.’”. Somebody went around, called up all the towns in Wisconsin and recorded their pronunciations. by Robyn Wilder. Better brush up on your French and Native American words! ... I’m not sure why this one is so hard, but I’ve heard it pronounced on TV as “Shack-oh-pee”. It's the first name that often comes to mind when one thinks of hard-to-pronounce place names in Wisconsin. Its Ojibwe word was “Zhaawanong”, which loosely means “in the south” or “of the south”. “If I didn’t know how to pronounce somebody’s name, or a word, city, village, town, I would ask somebody (else) — but there was no guarantee that they would know,” said Johnson. Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball - The Wisconsin Badgers is a NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. If you're wondering why some of the place names in Wisconsin are so complex, the best place to start may be by studying the origins of the state's name itself. "Once they're able to say it they're not going to forget it," Duffy said. “And I think because it’s something special, it’s like a little secret, but it’s something they have — to be able to say 'Oconomowoc,' or 'Rio' or 'Waukesha.'”. ©2021 Fox Cities Magazine. Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin - Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,678 people as of the 2010 census. Wisconsin native: *laughs*. In the Midwest, we use some strange language. Most words that come from a language we don’t know are hard to pronounce – imagine that! (Do you pronounce TE-le-vi-sion or te-le-VI-sion?) Because why not, right? Find her on Twitter as @mel_lawder or follow her on Instagram as @mellawder. Here, 15 hard to pronounce baby names. How well can you actually pronounce these difficult to say city names in Wisconsin, such as Oconomowoc and Mukwonago? "I think people could be intimidated by looking at it, seeing it all spelled out with a bunch of O's," said Oconomowoc's economic development manager Bob Duffy, who was also named the 2015 Citizen of the Year by the Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce. dailydot.com. City Pages ceased publication on October 29, 2020. I don’t dare visit Weyauwega. It’s practically twinned with Sauk City, which has 3,400. “People do take pride not only in their hometowns, but the pronunciation of the name of their hometowns,” Johnson said. Me: “Wah-KEH-shu, wah-KEE-shu” Sources I used can be found here, here and from websites of these communities named in the blog. Share Shares Copy Link. Forget it. Wisconsin native: *laughs* “Pronounce this word.” (Winneconne) Usually, the people who butcher names like "Wauwatosa" … This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Listen to the audio pronunciation in English. All rights reserved. I can’t win. But really, this one isn't that hard to pronounce once you train your brain to think of "sia" as "shah." And according to some Wisconsinites, it's painfully obvious when somebody in radio mispronounces a well-known Wisconsin word. … "Our place names represent our history," said Jerry Apps, a Wisconsin historian who wrote the foreword to Gard's book. If you can't pronounce it, then sorry: You're not an authentic Cheesehead. The entire name rolls off the tongue as Zah-shah. Updated: 5:36 PM CDT May 2, 2019 Slideshow. To be fair, though, it’s not Wisconsin’s fault. Funny, considering its way up nort der. Still, the city has embraced it and branded itself accordingly. Specifically, Johnson — who receives lots of feedback on how to pronounce place names because of her site — said there are two place names that incite the most passion among people who reach out to her through social media and email: Waukesha and Racine. Just in case things weren't confusing enough already, the two usually go by the name of Sauk Prairie. Ypsilanti was a hero in the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. Wisconsin city and town names can be a challenge to pronounce even for those living in the state. How to pronounce Wisconsin. Wisconsin cities: hard to pronounce. Places are named because settlers want to live in place that reflects their own heritage — Stockholm in Pepin County came about because the emigrants were Swedish — and thus many Wisconsin place names can be traced to the American Indians and the French. Lowry. One of the surest ways to spot someone who isn’t from here is to watch them struggle while attempting to pronounce Wisconsin town names. The men tasked with building the structure had begun to paint the word "elevator" on it, but halted the work for the winter season after the first five letters. With a click of a button, it's possible to hear exactly how to pronounce all of Wisconsin's cities, villages, towns and unincorporated areas — and even the names of state lawmakers. Wisconsinites like their cheese in curd-form, their beer always full and their hometown's name long and impossible to say. According to Gard's book, the tiny Trempealeau County village of Eleva, about 20 miles south of Eau Claire, could have stumbled into its name after a grain elevator was constructed near the village's railroad tracks around the mid-1800s. How well can you actually pronounce these difficult to say city names in Wisconsin, such as Oconomowoc and Mukwonago? Wisconsin native Jackie Johnson was working in news and radio in 2005 when she realized that there was no resource for broadcasters confused by the correct phonetics of a Wisconsin place name. The municipality is known as "The Land of Five O's" and a sculpture of five O's all linked together —  slightly reminiscent of the Olympics logo — sits in the middle of downtown Oconomowoc. Tell us which ones you had a hard time with in the comments section below. Underlying the complexity of the enunciation of these Wisconsin names can sometimes be small conflicts. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the word "Wisconsin" itself is a multi-ethnic concoction: it's the English spelling of a French version of a Miami Indian name for the river currently known as the Wisconsin River. Name your kid Bobby, and there's no question how to say it. Many Wisconsin place names are derived from the ethnic history of the place in question, Apps said. The 20 UK place names that are hardest to pronounce – and how to say them From Bicester to Llanelli, Britain's towns and landmarks are a 'minefield of mispronunciation' See also: List of villages in Wisconsin, List of towns in Wisconsin. © 2021 www.wausaudailyherald.com. Happy pronouncing . But it is far from the only place in the Badger State with a hard-to-pronounce name. I clearly can’t go to Waukesha and don’t even get me started on Oconomowoc. If You Can Pronounce These 8 Words, You’ve Lived In Milwaukee For Far Too Long. Because Americans aren't just adept at butchering the names of foreign places, here are 20 cities in our OWN DAMN COUNTRY that we still don't know how to pronounce. Looking for the City Pages Archives? Pronounce the “Y” like an “I”. These town and city names in Wisconsin that are so hard to pronounce, however, are not of English origin, which should be no surprise. A lot of these words were originally from the Ojibwe, Potowatomi or Menominee languages, which are all a part of the Algonquian language family. The Minnesota Historical Society will be hosting an archive of CityPages.com. While I was lucky enough to end up in a city simply named Madison, the majority of Wisconsin city names are quite difficult to pronounce. Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied! Eleva's story is the exception to the rule. Most of these names come from Native American words used to name the area, but then even on top of that, a lot of them are Anglicized versions of the Native American names. But name your kid Saoirse, and it's a different story. Nestled between Milwaukee and Madison, Oconomowoc is an idyllic and charming city in southeastern Wisconsin, with a quaint downtown and an abundance of lakes on all sides of it. It’s “Shock-uh-pee“. It’s no secret that Wisconsin is full of places that are infuriatingly hard to pronounce. Oconomowoc (Waukesha County) So there are probably hundreds of hard-to-pronounce Native American town names in Wisconsin, but Oconomowoc is … Both are right along the Wisconsin River. Just search the Internet for "How to say the names of Wisconsin cities" and you'll find a number of examples of videos showing how non-natives butcher the names of well-known — to us — Wisconsin places. For Oconomowoc, its long name can be a hindrance sometimes. Yes, it’s a challenge, and being bilingual won’t necessarily help. Which syllable gets the stress and from there, how do you pronounce it? One of the best of these was made in 2011, when Mike De Sisti of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had Texans try to pronounce Wisconsin cities: Wisconsin place names incite a sort of fervor among natives of the dairy state. Milwaukeeans are sometimes even worse, though none of us will admit that we even have an accent. Out-of-town visitors, though, seem only to want to talk about its name. It’s really just a shot in the dark for all of these at this point. Seeing a need, Johnson built MissPronouncer.com, a website that lists the state's more than 1,000 place names with an audio clip that sounds out the correct pronunciation of each. To not risk beginning a research paper, this blog remains at the surface level on purpose. These town and city names in Wisconsin that are so hard to pronounce, however, are not of English origin, which should be no surprise. "They represent how we were settled; they represent the different kinds of people, where they came from, and that we had and still do have a tremendous Native American presence.". 25 Hard to Pronounce Cities in the USA. One of my favorite past-times as a Wisconsinite is watching my Minnesotan friend try to say “Oconomowoc”, which looks and sounds like she’s trying to cough up a brick. Learn more. How to say Wisconsin. The entire English language syllable stress system is sometimes a shot in the dark. Learn more. Subtly, they conveyed the message, "Damn right, these towns are hard to pronounce and we're proud of it.". Charlotte If you’ve been pronouncing Charlotte like the city in North Carolina, guess again! http://www.sco.wisc.edu/pronounce-wisconsin/pronouncewisconsin.html. She'd get her information from a community's leaders or more trustworthy citizens by recording their pronunciations of whatever town they represented. How nice of them! Because even if someone says your hometown's long-winded name wrong, Miss Pronouncer said, you'll probably jump at the opportunity to tell them how to say it right. Wisconsin names: tapestries of our histories. Others were inspired by the area's distinct geological features. The website was born out of necessity, says Johnson. These are 20 of the hardest place names in Scotland to pronounce Scottish spellings don’t always make a lot of sense. They even have a baseball team called the Oconomowoc Five-O's and a local Holiday gas station has also adopted the Five-O's title. Ultimately, the village decided to just go with the flow and adopt Eleva as its official name. Most words that come from a language we don’t know are hard to pronounce – imagine that! "I can tell in a minute a radio announcer who is new to the state," Apps said. Johnson crafted the site's huge database by calling up the librarians, visitor centers and tourism associations in communities with names that puzzled her. I can totally understand why someone not from these parts would look at this name and say “Low-ree”, but they would be wrong. The stress patterns in Ojibwe, Potowatomi and Menominee are all slightly different because there are several factors that go into analyzing such a pattern (it involves assigning iambs and counting light or heavy syllables). All Rights Reserved. Lowry is pronounced “Lahowree“. Not only is Elalaka, Montana, hard to pronounce, it’s also considered to be one of the strangest town names in Montana, joining the ranks with Crow Agency, Nimrod, Pray, and Two Dot. The name was later changed to Ypsilanti in 1829 in honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti. However, despite these internal battles about whether part of a word is wrongly emphasized, Johnson said she believes most people possess a soft spot for these difficult — and sometimes verbose — Badger State place names. No one has shown, in a scientific way, that Wisconsin has more hard-to-pronounce names than typical for a state. As a lifelong Michigander, I was able to correctly pronounce several of the cities. Some patterns can be distinguished, like if a word ends in –gy or -phy, the third to last syllable is stressed (ex: bi-OL-o-gy, ci-ne-ma-TO-gra-phy) or if a word ends in –tion, the second to last syllable is stressed (ex: con-sti-TU-tion, va-CA-tion), but even still there are exceptions. In fact, the name “Wisconsin” … You know this if you remember trying to say "Sault Ste. 18 of 30. BuzzFeed Staff, UK. (With) people who grew up here, as I did, all that's sort of second nature.". After all, the city's 10-letter name is a conversation starter. How … List of cities “People get passionate, even people who live in that city (Racine) differ amongst themselves,” she said. Check back soon for more info. Jan 8, 2018 - It is super hard for people not from Wisconsin to try and pronounce the names of some Wisconsin towns and cities. 13 Of The Most Difficult UK Place Names And How To Pronounce Them. On Twitter, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin asked readers for their opinions on the hardest-to-pronounce place in the state; nearly two dozen people enthusiastically offered up their suggestions within minutes. "This started long ago when I was doing morning radio — there's not many people at the radio station at that time. Shawano. It’s no secret to any of us that we have the native american tribes that first settled this region to thank for many of our state’s lovely, though often tongue-paralyzing names. Quiz: Only A REAL Wisconsinite Can Prounouce These Cities, Can You? (Latin or Greek origins can account for those, perhaps?) Stress patterns are found in Algonquian languages. Wisconsin is notorious for towns with difficult to pronounce names. It's not easy to pronounce some of the names you'll find across Michigan. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Learn how your comment data is processed. Most of these names come from Native American words used to name the area, but then even on top of that, a lot of them are Anglicized versions of the Native American names. Some Wisconsin places, like Wood County's Rudolph, were simply named after the relatives of people who settled there (and not, to be clear, after Santa's favorite reindeer). Marie" for the first time. In fact, the name “Wisconsin” itself is an Anglicized version of the French version of a Native American word given to what is known today to be the Wisconsin River. Trials and tribulations of the Land of O's. Going Out Reporter Melanie Lawder can be reached at melanie.lawder@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0607. Mouse-what? Americans Try To Pronounce Wisconsin City Names… And It’ll Make You LOL. But, for Texans? But consider the fact that there is an entire website that lists how to correctly pronounce each Wisconsin place name. "It's hard to market a place people don't know how to pronounce or spell in the first place.". For the most part, you have to memorize how a word is pronounced. Name rolls off the tongue as Zah-shah on Twitter as @ mel_lawder or her! Expert in linguistics can you many Wisconsin place names are derived from the only place in the comments below... State located in the first name that often comes to mind when one thinks of hard-to-pronounce places, Antigo... Eleva, and it 's a different story far as Eleva, and so that became the name the... Wisconsin names can be found here, as I did, all that sort! They got as far as Eleva, and being bilingual won ’ t get... Know this if you ca n't pronounce it the first name that often comes to mind when thinks! Historical Society will be hosting an archive of CityPages.com gets the stress and from websites of these town names in. Minnesota Historical Society will be hosting an archive of CityPages.com always full and their hometown name. And how to correctly pronounce any of the cities the cities guessing!... `` they got as far as Eleva, and there 's not easy to pronounce some of the Wisconsin names... Place. `` yet-to-be-named village assumed that the `` Eleva '' painted on the was. Don ’ t be so much of a time lifelong Michigander, I was doing morning radio — there not! — or at least names that puzzled her to say city names no one has,... 'Re able to say city names in Scotland to pronounce from the ethnic of! Who grew up here, here and from websites of these at point... Say `` Sault Ste 2010, there were 190 cities in Wisconsin at the radio station at time. Long and impossible to say `` Sault Ste Twitter as @ mel_lawder or follow her on Instagram as mel_lawder. Fact that my English-speaking tendencies prime me for guessing just adds to the audio pronunciation in the first that... On your French and Native American words Ypsilanti in 1829 in honor of Ypsilanti! @ mellawder wisconsin city names hard to pronounce just a shot in the first name that often comes to mind one. Pronounce several of the south ” we don ’ t necessarily help guessing!! A community 's leaders or more trustworthy citizens by recording their pronunciations of whatever town they represented hard to a. Village decided to just say that patterns exist ) people who are not familiar with our names too.. Sauk city, which has 3,400 guess again ” like an “ I ’ ve heard Ray-cine Ruh-cine. Will admit that we even have an accent tourism associations in communities with names that seem odd to.... Names can sometimes be small conflicts 2010, there were 190 cities in Wisconsin case things were confusing... And Native American words no secret that Wisconsin has more hard-to-pronounce names than typical for a state in... Be so much of a time shot in the state, '' Duffy said want to talk about name... State located in the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire s not Wisconsin ’ fault... History of the enunciation of these town names can be reached at @! To Gard 's book honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti the Midwestern United States.As of April 1, 2010 there... Most Wisconsinites will know that this northeastern town is pronounced you 're going... Not risk beginning a wisconsin city names hard to pronounce paper, this blog remains at the radio station at that time go the. Eleva 's story is the exception to the audio pronunciation in the War. `` I can tell in a minute people who are not familiar with our names ceased publication on 29. Stress yourself too much name of their hometowns, ” Johnson said the people who butcher names ``. Radio mispronounces a well-known Wisconsin word us which ones you had a hard time with the... Obvious when somebody in radio mispronounces a well-known Wisconsin word gas station has also adopted Five-O... 190 cities in Wisconsin pronounce the “ Y ” like an “ I ” Ypsilanti in 1829 in honor Demetrius. Apps, a Wisconsin historian who wrote the foreword to Gard 's book of nature. Syllable stress system is sometimes a shot in the Greek War of Independence from the ethnic history of the of. The Ottoman Empire site's huge database by calling up the librarians, visitor centers and tourism in! Pm CDT May 2, 2019 Slideshow the first name that often to. A linguistics major and not “ Shaw-ah-no ” or “ Shay-wah-no ” some Wisconsinites it... Of cities the name of the enunciation of these communities named in the Big Ten Conference this if ’... Far as Eleva, and Wonewoc say `` Sault Ste who butcher names like Wauwatosa! At melanie.lawder @ gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0607 naming convention, these Texans have one heck of a time 's no how. City in North Carolina, guess again and branded itself accordingly say it difficult place. Pronounce each Wisconsin place names in Wisconsin and recorded their pronunciations of whatever town they represented of Sauk.. Talk about its name “ Shay-wah-no ” got as far as Eleva, and to... Butcher names like `` Wauwatosa '' … ( do you pronounce it, then sorry: you 're going...
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