WBA NewsroomMany of us have had a teacher, either in high school, college, or tech school, who insisted on proper vowel sounds, and there’s usually one member of the grammar police in every newsroom! One of my former colleagues said she had a teacher at UW-Milwaukee who would give an “F” to anyone making a class presentation who said “M’waukee” – failing to pronounce the “l”. She said one student who was the recipient of an “F” for the infraction said “but nobody really pronounces the “l” in “Milwaukee”! This precipitated a rant from the teacher, who said it was the responsibility of broadcasters to properly pronounce words.
In a newsroom discussion years ago in the Fox Valley, we debated how to actually determine proper pronunciation of some Wisconsin place-names, particularly ones that are pronounced differently even by people who live in the community. The subject at hand was the Winnebago County city of Omro. Most folks pronounce it the way it looks – “OM-roe” – but, as my former colleague pointed out, a lot of people who live there actually pronounce it with an additional “r” – “ARM-roe”.
At least with someone’s name, the convention is to pronounce it the way the person does. Just ask Brett Favre.
No debate is necessary in the internet age; this section of the WBA Newsroom provides answers on how to correctly pronounce just about any Wisconsin place-name or public official’s name.
At this time of year, you’ll hear as many broadcasters say “HOL-oh-ween” as those who pronounce it properly, “HAL-oh-ween”, which is proper. It’s a shortened form of “All Hallows’ Evening”.
Same with Daylight Saving Time. There’s no “s” on the end of “Saving”.
At least there’s no debate about which way we adjust the clocks. Enjoy that “extra hour of sleep” Sunday morning.
Posted by Tim Morrissey