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The Hood River Glacier, Hood River, OR., April 18, 1902, page 3

CORRECT PRONOUNCIATION OF BINGEN

Bingen, Wash., April 14, 1902. - Editor Glacier: A telephone line from Hood River to Bingen was completed today, and a few minutes ago a conversation between Bingen and Portland took place. Thus at once Bingen is brought more to the front, it being the only place of western Klickitat county having telephone connection with other places. Now, even such proud cities as Hood River, The Dalles and Portland will talk with Bingen! No doubt this connection will come very handy to many people on this side of the Columbia river. At this important period in the history of Bingen it may be well to make a few remarks in regard to the name of the town, for that is sometimes pronounced in correctly. This, of course, is not surprising, since the letter "g" has in many cases the sound of "j." But in Bingen the rule is not violated, for in this name the letter "g" has its true sound, the same it has in the word go, and in so many others which we use every day, such as: begin, singing, give, girl, druggist, gear, geese, finger, tiger, nugget, buggy. Indeed, words in which the "g" has the sound of "j" may be called exceptions, for they are mostly of foreign, that is, not of Anglo-Saxon origin. The correct pronunciation, then, is Bingen, not Binjen or Binyen. It is believed that most people are quite indifferent in this matter, and they will therefore use the correct name if they know it, simply because it is correct. It is further believed that the Glacier reaches so many people on both sides of the Columbia, that in a short time there may be no need for anyone to say Binjen, or Binyen. Of course, it is desirable, if not necessary, that we all pronounced the name alike. W.N.S.