Even Speechify Mispronounces My Hometown’s Name

A Mainer’s brief lesson on how to say “Bangor”

Speechify is one of my favorite editing tools. For those not familiar with Speechify, it’s an awesome text to speech reader. I love using it to listen to my drafts before I publish them. Unfortunately, I just discovered that some of Speechify’s voices don’t know how to pronounce the name of my hometown.

I’m from Bangor, Maine, USA. People from away often mispronounce it, so I am offering a brief lesson on how we say it here:

The incorrect way to pronounce it: Bang-GURR.

The correct way to pronounce it: Bang-GORE.

This lovely song demonstrates the difference:

Thank you for reading, all! I hope you have enjoyed my brief lesson on how to pronounce the name of my hometown. Even if you never come to Maine, this random piece of information may be helpful on trivia night. Or, if you’re a Stephen King fan. You’ll definitely want to know how to say Bang-GORE if you’re a Stephen King fan.

PS- If you’re from Pennsylvania, yes, I know you have a Bangor there and that you pronounce it Bang-GURR. I went to college in Pennsylvania and constantly had to correct people when I told them where I lived. A sample conversation:

Me: “I’m from Bang-GORE, Maine.”

Other person: “Oh, you’re from Bang-GURR?”

Me: “No, we pronounce it Bang-GORE there.”

Other person: “Are you sure?”

Me: “Yes, I’m quite sure. I grew up there. It’s Bang-GORE.”

Other person: “That’s cool that you’re from Bang-GURR, Maine! Have you ever seen a moose?”

Sigh.

And yes, I have seen several moose. I saw one walking up my street when I was in high school. Maybe I’ll write about it someday. If you’d like to read about the infamous moose, please share in the comments!