I could say this word, one hundred million times to myself, and then when I have to use it in conversation, I'd mess it up.

It's just facts.

You live long enough and you just know your limitations and when it comes to saying certain things correctly, you just know it's going to come out wrong.

Young afro american woman on yellow copy space background
Getty Images/iStockphoto
loading...
WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM logo
Get our free mobile app

So while looking through Reader's Digest's list of The Most Difficult-to-Pronounce Town in Every State, I was interested in seeing what they thought were the tops in Illinois and Wisconsin.

For Illinois, it's a weird one: Benld. Pronounced Ben-Eld after the founder Benjamin L. Dorsey, I feel like that's one I could probably remember after saying out loud a few times, but the Wisconsin word, whoo-boy.

Wisconsin's most difficult to pronounce town name is Oconomowoc.

Say what?

Oconomowoc Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash
Oconomowoc Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash
loading...

Reader's Digest:

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, is described by some as an idyllic and charming city with a quaint downtown and an abundance of lakes on all sides of it. What it also has is a name that no one who doesn’t live there can pronounce. '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, to the Wausau Daily HeraldFor the record, it’s pronounced Oh-CON-oh-moh-wok.

I just said it to myself five times, and I'm pretty sure I said it differently all five times.

Studio shot of a young woman looking confused against a blue background
Getty Images/iStockphoto
loading...

About 90 minutes from Rockford, Oconomowoc is in Waukesha County and their Wikipedia says "the name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for 'waterfall.'"

Hope that helps. What do you think is the hardest to pronounce town in Wisconsin and Illinois. Tell us.

10 Places in Wisconsin That Have Strong Ties to Gangster History

25 Famous People You Didn't Know Were From Wisconsin

Check out this list of celebrities from the dairy state.

More From WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM