MissPronouncer has come in handy for various folks who care about accurate pronunciations of Wisconsin places, including radio and television announcers, voiceover talent, speakers, politicians, businessmen, teachers, students, and other curious minds. Likewise, we hope you find this free online resource useful.
Simplified Respelling System
a as in sat
ay as in ate
ah as in arm (or pot, Tom)
air as in care
aw as in law
e as in bet
ee as in me
i as in hit
eye as in ice
o as in fox
oh as in toe
oo as in mood
you as in pew
u as in full
uh as in suppose, gallop, cup
uhr as in burn, paper, sailor, liar
ow as in owl
oi as in boy
g as in go
j as in jump
ng as in singer (not finger)
k as in can
kw as in quick
th as in thin
dh as in then
ch as in chain
sh as in dash
zh as in vision
s as in sit
w as in wave
y as in yen
z as in zebra
Capitalized syllables are accented
Hope that helps! 😉
Thanks to Barry Orton, Ph.D. at UW-Madison, for sharing this phonetic pronouncer guide from the University Extension. Its preface states, “The gazetteer does not presume to establish a final authority for the pronunciation of Wisconsin place names, but it does provide preferred pronunciations recommended by residents of the areas concerned.”
That’s exactly what we were thinking when putting together this internet reference. The preface goes on to state (similar to our process) many people were consulted on pronunciations of place names, including extension workers, sheriffs, teachers, local historians, students, and recognized “old-timers.”