As a Wisconsin native, I can be both offended and charmed by a Web site that helps those reporting on the Badger State to pronounce some of the harder-to-say names of local cities and the like.

That is why Misspronouncer.com gets at least one thumbs up here. The four-year-old Internet outlet that seeks to offer help for those trying to properly say Wisconsin names such as Oconomowoc or Ashwaubenon appears to be offering a valuable service, and one that could be copied in some other parts of the country.

“Your one-of-a-kind, online resource for audio pronunciations of cities, parks, lawmakers, Indian tribes, towns, counties, villages, forests and sports figures specific to Wisconsin,” the site brags.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently found the new news tool, and credits creator Jackie Johnson, a Wisconsin Radio Network anchor/reporter, with seizing on a need, noting: “she started a Web site that has become a go-to resource for tourists, politicians, public speakers and broadcasters from around the world, who hope to avoid making gaffes like Barack Obama, who mispronounced Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's name - 'twice, as a candidate and president,' said Johnson - and, of course, John Kerry's infamous reference to Green Bay's 'Lambert Field.'”