# How to pronounce the Jaeger part of JLC?



## ddldave

yeah-gur or Jah-jer?

Just curious of how to pronounce it properly. It probably goes both ways, but I want to know how the timepiece community pronounces it.


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## dak_la

I have heard both Jay-gay and Yay-gay.


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## annuvin

I go to the source on this one, their own promotional video says zhay-zhay le coolt ruh


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## Quotron

If you don't know how to say it, just say "JLC"...


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## ddldave

Quotron said:


> If you don't know how to say it, just say "JLC"...


I never thought of that! That's what I will say from now on. JLC.


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## Skitalets

The company does seem to pronounce it zhah-zhay rather than yay-ger (try calling one of their boutiques and listening to how they answer the phone), and the Jaeger whose name is on the door (so to speak) was French. It is obviously originally a German surname, though. I have a hard time not pronouncing it yay-ger, and have heard that pronunciation very frequently, too.


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## opticalserenity

annuvin said:


> I go to the source on this one, their own promotional video says zhay-zhay le coolt ruh


That's correct. I think Clive Owen is the perfect person to do a voice over.


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## Kilovolt

Skitalets said:


> .... It is obviously originally a German surname, though. I have a hard time not pronouncing it yay-ger, and have heard that pronunciation very frequently, too.


And BTW it's German for 'hunter'


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## Rdenney

When I called the _factory_ in Le Sentier to request a tour (and was unsuccessful), the receptionist, before knowing I spoke English (and I was calling from my Swiss hotel), answered in French and said "Yay-gur".

Jaeger was actually French, and before that I had always pronounced it "zhay-zhair." But to be honest I never heard that pronunciation, even at the JLC Boutique in Geneva.

I've gone back to Yay-gur.

"LeCoultre" could be "le-coolt-ruh", but that last syllable really is almost not a syllable, and is really just just a tail of sound following an almost imagined "r" sound. But that's the challenge of French. If you really want a challenge, get a French person to say "rattrapante" to you. It took me several tries to actually hear it as "rattrapante", and I'd already attempted to pronounce it correctly. Hopeless.

Rick "thinking it won't matter with customers whose checks don't bounce" Denney


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## ryanmanyes

Jer-jey if you're European, Yay-ger if you're north American........as I understand it.


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## ryanmanyes

Both seen to be accepted....as ive heard jlc ad's in the uk say it yay-ger.


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## SparrowPL

Watch this and at the end you will hear how to pronounce

Sparrow


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## dinobaggio

It's zhair zhair, if you want to be an obnoxious and 100% correct, but if you don't want to sound like a wally it's yay gur.


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## Redemption

When I was in Geneva, two different salespeople in two different stores both pronounced it, Jay-Jer.

But the 'J' wasn't hard like, 'James' or 'John'. It was soft with a French accent.


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## NT931

I found this site, and this one, quite useful in learning all these complicated names, hope it helps!


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## Rdenney

Redemption said:


> When I was in Geneva, two different salespeople in two different stores both pronounced it, Jay-Jer.
> 
> But the 'J' wasn't hard like, 'James' or 'John'. It was soft with a French accent.


I have concluded that it just doesn't matter. As I said above, both the receptionist at the factory in Le Sentier and the lady who manages the Geneva boutique pronounced it Yay-gur.

If they don't care enough to be consistent, why should I?

It seems to be not uncommon in Switzerland to use the word form in the speaker's language. Neuchatel is also Neuenburg, etc.

Rick "who sounds less pretentious with the German pronunciation" Denney


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## Icelollix

You can google for Jerome Lambert (ex CEO of JLC now I believe in Mont Blanc) in Youtube there are videos of him speaking both in French and English with nice french accent ;-) it is not the american way (?) it is more like zh with a lot of air expelled in that syllable. 

By the way I also learnt from Patek Phillipe CEO, the K is pronounced, not silent!


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## Rdenney

Icelollix said:


> ...By the way I also learnt from Patek Phillipe CEO, the K is pronounced, not silent!


Antoine Norbert de Patek was Polish.

Rick "only vowels are silent there" Denney


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## mblack

re: Rdenney


> When I called the _factory_ in Le Sentier to request a tour (and was unsuccessful), the receptionist, before knowing I spoke English (and I was calling from my Swiss hotel), answered in French and said "Yay-gur".


Although the receptionist answered in French, since it was in Switzerland, she may very well have been German and pronouncing it as if it were German. Thanks to annuvin for the video post. I poked around on related links and found several clips of the CEO. Here's the one I found where he says the name the most number of times. 




Pretty clear that he's saying "zhay-ZHAIr," with the second "r" being less emphasized. (When you listen to these videos, you hear nterviewers bungle the name in every way you see on this board and more.)

We've been debating this pronunciation in our family for a while now. So I think I now have a definitive answer, but I've long said JLC in order to avoid this topic and I think I'll stick with that.

MB


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## Rdenney

It's like I said--in Switzerland, German speakers use German words and French speakers use French words. Hence, Neuchâtel might be Neuenburg, and the whole Biel/Bienne thing. Nobody seems to get worked up about it, and I doubt even French-speaking Swiss are bothered when people say Yaygur. They probably prefer that to butchering the French pronunciation, as most English speakers are likely to do. 

But I'm quite sure the receptionist at the factory spoke French first (though over half of Swiss French-speakers also speak German). What tumbled out of the phone after the greeting was certainly not German. Fortunately, she also spoke English. 

Rick "not going to worry about it" Denney


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## Rallyfan13

If you give them the money I doubt they'll care how you pronounce it. In fact next time you buy one, try it. Ask how much to have them mispronounce the name for you. 

If you're in the US they'll say JLC (and if you're in the US, make a POINT of getting the catalogue!!! Seriously it's terrific). I've heard it pronounced yeAh ger in the south of France; probably the exception that proves the rule. Go figure.


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## Quotron

And all this time I've been saying _Jay-Jay La Coo-Coo_...


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## Rallyfan13

Quotron said:


> And all this time I've been saying _Jay-Jay La Coo-Coo_...


Good idea thanks!


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## Ajax_Drakos

NT931 said:


> I found this site, and this one, quite useful in learning all these complicated names, hope it helps!


Dag nabbit!!! I use those sites, too, but did you notice that they're different from each other when it comes to JLC?

WatchTime says it's zhey ZHER leh KOOLT, but the pronunciation on chronometrie.com is zhey GER leh coltruh

From now on, I'm either going to call it "JLC" or pronounce it like I saw some hillbilly guy on YouTube pronounce it: "Jay Jay Lecoh,."


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## domoon

I'd suggest you to watch Pacific Rim then- or rewatch if you've already- for variations on jaeger pronunciation. I remember there's aussie and russian jaeger pilots too other than americans. And the mako chick was supposed to be Japanese 

Tlapatlaked


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## Rdenney

Rallyfan13 said:


> If you give them the money I doubt they'll care how you pronounce it. In fact next time you buy one, try it. Ask how much to have them mispronounce the name for you.
> 
> If you're in the US they'll say JLC (and if you're in the US, make a POINT of getting the catalogue!!! Seriously it's terrific). I've heard it pronounced yeAh ger in the south of France; probably the exception that proves the rule. Go figure.


Well, the phone receptionist probably didn't care whether I bought anything or not. She was explaining to me that arranging to join a tour directly without going through a dealer was "not possible". Now, _that_ is a classically Swiss statement in any language.

The manager of the JLC Boutique in Geneva used Yaygur, but she may have been a native German speaker (just as the manager of the Zenith boutique was originally an Italian speaker). Clearly, she knew that my wife and I were American. But I never attempted pronunciation there--no need. The closest I got was "grande Reverso duo", which unfortunately I could not afford.

But she gave me the latest catalog. I already had last year's catalog by requesting it from the web page. It is indeed an excellent catalog.

Rick "who could spend a decade trying to pronounce 'rattrapante' and still butcher it" Denney


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## ilitig8

Rdenney said:


> I have concluded that it just doesn't matter. As I said above, both the receptionist at the factory in Le Sentier and the lady who manages the Geneva boutique pronounced it Yay-gur.
> 
> If they don't care enough to be consistent, why should I?
> 
> It seems to be not uncommon in Switzerland to use the word form in the speaker's language. Neuchatel is also Neuenburg, etc.
> 
> Rick "who sounds less pretentious with the German pronunciation" Denney


I deal with a Japanese company which 95% of 'Mericans pronounce incorrectly, the US office has relented and now uses the US pronunciation. I have not and still pronounce it the "proper" way even though I may occasionally look like a douche. The main reason is I have met the owner many times and he is pure old school Japanese business, all the standard bowing and humility, I have a lot of respect for him and it is his surname so I think it should be pronounced "his way".

As with JLC is bugs me that being nothing more than correct leads to people thinking you are pretentious. I tend to use JLC when in shops since it avoids being labeled an ass or stupid.


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## MattHofstadt

I called the JLC service center in Texas today and they pronounced it as Yay-gur.

Earlier this year, I was in Berlin and they pronounced it as Yay-gur.

I was also in Switzerland, and associates in the Zurich JLC boutique pronounced it also as Yay-gur.

I've seen alternate pronunciations on Youtube, but have yet to hear them out in the wild.


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## qtip.416

Ajax_Drakos said:


> From now on, I'm either going to call it "JLC" or pronounce it like I saw some hillbilly guy on YouTube pronounce it: "Jay Jay Lecoh,."


Do you mean this guy?

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control Review - YouTube

I was cringing when I watched the video. lol.


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## Rdenney

qtip.416 said:


> Do you mean this guy?
> 
> I was cringing when I watched the video. lol.


Ooh--bad case of ******-mouth there. I grew up listening to that accent.

Did you hear the "tag-whore" and the "ho-vay"? He's murdering both French and Yiddish.

But you can't say he wasn't committed to it--he said "jay-jay le-koe" at least a hundred times in that video.

For him "yay-gur le-colter" would be a safer way to murder it, recognizing that death is inevitable.

But bad pronunciation wasn't the only issue. Some people are good at ad-libbing for the camera. This guy, though, needs a script.

Rick "not sure YouTube represents an advancement for mankind" Denney


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## kinkycad

loving this thread.
think the above link is correct?

sounds almost as sexy as some of their watches to me!


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## cfracing

kinkycad said:


> loving this thread.
> think the above link is correct?
> 
> sounds almost as sexy as some of their watches to me!


I think you are a little late. That link was in the *second* post of this thread. 

I believe it depends on which country you are from. From my observations the link seems to mash two pronunciations - English/German/Swiss "Jaeger" with French "LeCoultre".


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## alx007

I couldn't find it, but I remember reading an article where the watch snob teaches this. In a nutshell, he says if you are american, and an a-hole, you pronounce "Ja-jare lecoultr". If you are french and an a-hole, you pronounce "Yay-gur Lecoutre".

Jokes aside, I always learned the pronunciation was "Ja-jare". Follows a video with an interview with Jerome Lambert, when he was the CEO of the brand. You can take the cue from there:


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## watchnerd8

The Jae and the Ger are both pronounced like the 'G' from the word 'genre' (or like the 'J' from 'Jeep'). Calling JLC is helpful, I even have the proof on my mailbox… :-!


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## Rdenney

As I've already said in this thread (or one like it), Jaeger was French, and though he was from Alsace, he worked in Paris during his partnership with Jacques-David LeCoultre. LeCoultre was Swiss from the French-speaking part. Jerome Lambert spoke both in the French style, as the video shows, and that seems to me as authoritative as it gets without re-animating Edmond Jaeger.

But wait! There's more. In the Genéve boutique at the base of the Rue du Rhône, which is as French as it gets without being in France (and France is a short drive in three directions), the manager there clearly said "Yagur". She had marked me as American, and may have adjusted the pronunciation to prevent having to hear my terrible French attempts. As did the French-speaking receptionist at the factory when I called in an (unsuccessful) attempt to visit the factory. And that was before she heard me speak, at which point she switched to English.

In Switzerland, places and names are translated based on the language being spoken, not transliterated, or they are correctly pronounced in their original language. Neuchâtel is Neuenburg when speaking German or on German maps, and Biel/Bienne, being near the boundary of the language areas, is officially shown as both. Grenchen it is in German, but Granges it is in French.

I conclude that the Swiss care less than we do.

Rick "[ˈʒeʒɛʁ ləˈkultʁ]" Denney


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## mattfm

Yagur is only used by americans. "Jay-gay" wtf is this?

The french speakers and all the latin languages speakers usually speaks zhe-gher.


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## Legion681

In Switzerland, we are used to different languages. There are actually FOUR official languages here. As one can imagine, most folks speak at least two. Many speak three - like me - or more.

The vast majority of folks here will pronounce (or at least give it their best shot) a word the way it is supposed to sound in the language that originated that word. 

So, the word "Jaeger" being a German word - "Jaeger" means "hunter" in German - will be pronounced like the Germans do and the closest phonetic way is something that in English sounds like Yay-ger.

If you have still doubts about this, consider an example of another very known product: Jaegermeister ("master hunter" in German). Does any of you pronounce it "Zhe-zher meister"? Do you order "Zhe-zher bombs"? My guess is no. Same rule applies for "Jaeger" in "Jaeger Lecoultre".


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## Legion681

mattfm said:


> *1 *Yagur is only used by americans. "Jay-gay" wtf is this?
> 
> *2 *The french speakers and all the latin languages speakers usually speaks zhe-gher.


1. It is German. Just like the word "Jaeger".
2. Of the three ethnic regions in Switzerland (German, French, Italian), Germans and Italians (<-- my area & ethnicity) will pronounce it "Yay-ger". 
In the French area, those who can be bothered about it will pronounce it "Yay-ger", those who couldn't be bothered, or worse they want to make it French sounding just for the sake of trolling, will say "Zhe-zher".


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## cfw

They dont have this problem in the Rolex forum haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mpalmer

If you spend 6-10k on a JLC, your good taste has earned you the right to pronounce the name anyway you like... ;-)


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## Rdenney

Legion681 said:


> In Switzerland, we are used to different languages. There are actually FOUR official languages here. As one can imagine, most folks speak at least two. Many speak three - like me - or more.
> 
> The vast majority of folks here will pronounce (or at least give it their best shot) a word the way it is supposed to sound in the language that originated that word.
> 
> So, the word "Jaeger" being a German word - "Jaeger" means "hunter" in German - will be pronounced like the Germans do and the closest phonetic way is something that in English sounds like Yay-ger.
> 
> If you have still doubts about this, consider an example of another very known product: Jaegermeister ("master hunter" in German). Does any of you pronounce it "Zhe-zher meister"? Do you order "Zhe-zher bombs"? My guess is no. Same rule applies for "Jaeger" in "Jaeger Lecoultre".


Explain Jerome Lambert's pronunciation, then. I don't thinks it's because he can't pronounce it in German.

And do you think that the very French Edmond Jaeger pronounced it the German way where he was working in Paris?

In America, we don't have four languages, but we have surnames in 40 languages, and so we follow a simple rule: we pronounce it, to the extent we are able (limited though that may be), the way the owner of the name pronounces it.

Rick "but ******-mouth is a different issue" Denney


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## omeglycine

cfw said:


> They dont have this problem in the Rolex forum haha Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Except for those who pronounce it "Rol-ex."


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## Legion681

mpalmer said:


> If you spend 6-10k on a JLC, your good taste has earned you the right to pronounce the name anyway you like... ;-)


You got a point there! 



Rdenney said:


> Explain Jerome Lambert's pronunciation, then. I don't thinks it's because he can't pronounce it in German.
> 
> And do you think that the very French Edmond Jaeger pronounced it the German way where he was working in Paris?
> 
> In America, we don't have four languages, but we have surnames in 40 languages, and so we follow a simple rule: we pronounce it, to the extent we are able (limited though that may be), the way the owner of the name pronounces it.
> 
> Rick "but ******-mouth is a different issue" Denney


I didn't listen to Jerome Lamberts pronunciation. I assume it doesn't sound like "Yay-ger" and is probably the "Zhe-zher" one.

I am not sure if you know well French or Swiss French folks. I do, extensively, because I worked in the Swiss French area of Switzerland (Geneva) and well, my country is as small as a post stamp and basically one can't help bumping into the other ethnicities VERY OFTEN. France itself is rather close too. So I worked with, met and conversed with oodles of Swiss French / French folks.

In my personal experience, there isn't a bigger "offender" than a French / Swiss French for butchering the pronunciation of a foreign word. I am not joking. They make your average, only English-speaking American sound like a language expert.

Did you know for example that if the name of something (person, location, object, etc etc) ends with a vowel, they will automatically put an accent on that last vowel? Chicago for example will be pronounced Chicagò (= strong emphasis on the "o").
Why is that then? Simply put they don't give a **** about the correct pronunciation. In this day and age, I believe most of them know the correct pronunciation of most foreign words (in the most common Western European languages), but couldn't be bothered to say it.
They will pronounce EVERY WORD of every language in the planet according to the rules of the French language. If they are happy with that, good for them. But in my opinion, just because a native French speaker mispronounces a foreign word, that doesn't make it right in any way, shape or form.

I heard that argument before. If the surname was pronounced like that by the guy who has it, it must be the correct pronunciation. I believe that to be wrong: my KEY point is that a word, including names and surnames, is originated in a given language and it should be pronounced according to the rules of that language.

For example, a 5th generation Italian American that doesn't speak a word of Italian isn't in the position of knowing FOR SURE how to pronounce his/her own name. Yet, they obviously will have to say it somehow and be done with it. Fine and dandy, but not necessarily the correct pronunciation. If they pronounce it according to the English language rules, it is actually guaranteed to be wrong because English and Italian have wildly different rules.
Another example... In NYC, in the mid 90s, I had someone working for me who was of Italian origin (couldn't speak more than a handful of words of Italian, with a thick American accent). His surname had a "ch" in it. He would pronounce it the English way, as in the word "chase" for example. One day we were talking languages and I said to him "by the way, about your name, do you know that the ch..." and before I could finish he said "yeah, in Italian it's pronounced like a K in English". So I said "if you knew, why do you intentionally pronounce it like "chase"?". He told me that it was simpler to go along with the way all other folks would say it rather than have to explain why it is a K sound (FYI, the letter K doesn't even EXIST in the Italian alphabet...). Easier? Sure. Correct? No. But at least he knew that.

PS: I don't know how Mr Jaeger would pronounce his name (and I bet you don't either). But for the reasons I said here above, I think it's irrelevant. Jaeger = German word. In German you pronounce "Jaeger" as Yay-ger. It doesn't matter if Edmond pronounced it "Zhe-zher" or "Susan" or "bingo bongo".
If instead it should be what matters, why then Jaegermeister is not pronounced "Zhe-zher meister"? It is pretty much universally known that Jaegermeister is pronounced "Yay-ger meister", no? And yet there's folks that with a straight face say Jaeger Lecoultre should be pronounced "Zhe-zher..."...

Al "The language's rules... Rule" C.


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## Rdenney

You must be German. 

Rick "who can confirm from personal experience that it is pronounced all ways in Suisse Romande" Denney


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## Legion681

That's a negative on that. I am from the Italian part of Switzerland. So, Swiss Italian. We are the smallest minority in Switzerland... those who are almost always tasked with learning the other national languages because why would the 95% (70% Germans, 25% French) wish to learn the language of the 5% (Italians)? 
So we are very well versed in languages: we have to, if we want to communicate with everybody else. Because you can count on the fact that when a Swiss German or Swiss French comes to our neighborhood, they will start speaking in their language, by default assuming we know it. When we go to their place, it is expected of us to speak their languages though... 
Add to that, that Italian is only spoken in Italy and in this part of Switzerland, and then you will understand why we must also learn English, if we want to participate in a globalized world. Your average Swiss Italian has quite the resume when languages are concerned... I am fluent in three, for example. By American standards, I could be considered fluent in five.
I don't think your average American has much knowledge of foreign languages. They can already barely cope with their own (spelling seems to be the Achilles heel of most folks there...). That is from my personal experience of a total of 12 years I spent in the USA... 

I am impressed that you have extensive experience in Suisse Romande, though. If you do, I need not explain to you how our French friends from over there have zero interest in pronouncing foreign words, you must have experienced it by yourself. If mispronouncing a foreign word was a crime, our friends in Suisse Romande would be on death row... 

Al "Yeah, I know my languages" C.


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## Rallyfan13

The practices in the US are a poor example of how to pronounce something, since they tolerate mispronouncing actual surnames in the name of apathy or a personal liberty (I can't work out which). 

This means two families can be neighbours, even relatives, yet each may pronounce the same surname differently. 

In addition, both families will invariably misspell "neighbours."

I'd still love to mangle JLC if the dealer is really snooty. Could be good sport.


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## Rdenney

The reason I said that is because your rules get highest priority, which is very Swiss (or German) but maybe not so Italian (or French, well, maybe except when it comes to _their_ language).

The notion of basing it on what the word means versus what the owner of the name prefers also seems rather Swiss. My own name has been wrung through three languages (Old Norse, Middle French--or Occitan--, and Medieval English) and has been transliterated a few times. It essentially means "Danish" but by your rules I suppose it would have to be in modern Danish: Danske. Denney is fine by me. At this space of 800 years, I've renounced my Viking loyalties.

I've heard people who represent JLC (in Switzerland) use both pronunciations, so I really don't think that it matters.

Rick "who speaks a language combined from Danish (Angles), German (Saxons), Latin (Romans), French (Normans), and Celtic (native Britons)" Denney


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## dhtjr

Rallyfan13 said:


> The practices in the US are a poor example of how to pronounce something, since they tolerate mispronouncing actual surnames in the name of apathy or a personal liberty (I can't work out which).
> 
> This means two families can be neighbours, even relatives, yet each may pronounce the same surname differently.
> 
> In addition, both families will invariably misspell "neighbours."
> 
> I'd still love to mangle JLC if the dealer is really snooty. Could be good sport.


Yes, it's true to some extent what you say about a surname being pronounced in different ways in the US. It's messy here because many surnames that originated in the "old country" may retain their original pronunciation or have been changed over the generations for various reasons, some sensible and others less so. One example that comes to mind is the surname "Christiansen." Even with this particular spelling I've heard it pronounced in two completely different ways, usually in Utah. And don't even get me started on the tiresome trend of fashionable and silly alternative spellings of traditional first names, which essentially condemns the poor child to a lifetime of having to verbally spell his or her name, starting on the first day of kindergarten and mercifully ending only at death when the surviving family will ensure the name is spelled correctly one last time for the headstone.


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## patton250

OK I'm going with how Legion said to pronounce it. Lol

So how do you pronounce LeCoultre?


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## Gerard Taboada

It would be something like "Jejeg Lecultr". It is difficult to pronounce it if you can't pronounce the french "r"


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## aceofangel

Always pronounced it jay-ger. Seems right after looking at the videos linked.


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## Orange_GT3

ddldave said:


> yeah-gur or *Jah-jer*?
> 
> Just curious of how to pronounce it properly. It probably goes both ways, but I want to know how the timepiece community pronounces it.


This one ^^^.


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## Diegos

The worse I've heard is "Jayger Couture" from my step dad haha. I just say JLC or Jaegger.


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## nycpassat

i gave up trying to pronounce it properly. I along the rest would just say JLC.


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## vip1985

I try my best to say zhey-zher ley-cul-tuh(r) like the native French speakers do.


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## Rallyfan13

I wonder if a dealer will sell a watch to someone that mispronounces the name. It seems very important to get it right. Their feelings might be hurt and they might turn down all that money.

On second thought, who cares.


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## Hedek

Edit: please delete, did not realize it was a necro

Jay jair luh kutr

The J's should be pronounced without the "D" sound at the beginning. Not like Jay-Z. More like "shay". 

Jair rhymes with air. 

And the final R is the throaty R, comes from the bottom of the throat, not a roll of the tongue.


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## chuckaroo

They paid Clive Owen to voice this video. At 2:18 he says it as I'm sure they intend it to be said.


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## peire06

Based on this video it sounds like they pronounce it the French way. Vive la France!


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## UAconcorde

Im gonna put my hammer down on this, all debates cease...

Note R is pronounce " ai-heh", in a word it would just be a light "heh" with vibrations, much like clearing one's throat

Its: Zhay-zhai-(r)heh Le-COO-(le)silent-t-(r)heh


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## UAconcorde

no Clive Owen is botching it. He pronounce the last *syllable "tre" like "tra" in English

Its "Te-heh", like you are clearing your throat*


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## adlerholz

I'm german and pronounce Jaeger the german way. "yay-ger", you know, because its a german word.
But on the other hand my french friend pronounces it the french way "jay-jer". I told him that it is a german word and he said that everyone in France says it that way...
So i guess it depends where you are from, either way is right or wrong.


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## bluedialer

I try to pronounce it the way JL execs pronounce it.


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## varvn

Me too! I stick to pronouncing it the way JLC execs pronounce it.


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## bluedialer

Yeah





That guy is like JLC's marketing director or some such. He surely knows exactly how it's to be pronnounced. Maybe can't say it exactly like that down to the subtleties, but "zhezher-lecoolt" is good enough for me.


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## chrisboulas

bluedialer said:


> Yeah
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That guy is like JLC's marketing director or some such. He surely knows exactly how it's to be pronnounced. Maybe can't say it exactly like that down to the subtleties, but "zhezher-lecoolt" is good enough for me.


This is how I've always thought it was pronounced personally. I'm going with this one...lol.


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## Rdenney

adlerholz said:


> I'm german and pronounce Jaeger the german way. "yay-ger", you know, because its a german word.
> But on the other hand my french friend pronounces it the french way "jay-jer". I told him that it is a german word and he said that everyone in France says it that way...
> So i guess it depends where you are from, either way is right or wrong.


This runs afoul of American practice; hence the debate. As a nation of immigrants, we have learned to pronounce people's names the way they pronounce them, irrespective of the actual origin of the word. Most Americans don't know what the word means or it's origin anyway.

It is common in Europe to pronounce names in the language of the speaker, and even change the words to that language if the meaning is known. Try driving in Suisse Romande with a rental car that has a sat-nav system in German--all the street and place names will be completely different. (Want to go to Neuchâtel? You must know that in German it's "Neuenberg.")

I rather prefer American practice here in this regard.

As I have written before on this topic, probably in this thread, we don't know how Edmonde Jaeger pronounced his name. We do know he spoke French and lived in Paris. We also know that it is a company in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and its executives speak the name in the French way.

But other employees say it in the German way, if they are German-speakers (the they still pronounce LeCoultre in the French way).

So, I'm not sure it really matters. The German pronunciation surely is easier, though.

Rick "saying it the French way when feeling confident" Denney


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## eresaru

I have always pronounced it the half German half French way. The Jaeger part pretty much like the robots in Pacific rim and the rest, well pretty much how it's spelled. Dunno if it's correct but it works for me


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## tranathi

Looks like in most of the JLC commercial with the lady's voice she pronounces it "jay jair".


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## waynelam83

Watch Snob said it nicely.

"question from a watch knobI've heard the name "Jaeger-LeCoultre" pronounced "yay-gur" and "ja-jare." Which is right?
Well, of course, pronunciation depends greatly on where you reside and what language you speak. Jaeger-Lecoultre is indeed a tricky one, so here are some rules to live by when discussing the makers of the Memovox, Reverso and AMVOX. To figure out how you should pronounce the "Jaeger" in "Jaeger-LeCoultre," ask yourself the following:
1- Are you a native speaker of French or English?
2- Are you an a**hole or not?
If you're French and not an a**hole and live, say, in Paris, France, you'll say "ja-jare." If you're French and an a**hole, you'll say "yay-gur." If you speak English and live, say, in Boston, Massachusetts, you'll say "yay-gur." But, if you're a true a**hole, you'll be saying "ja-jare." 
Hope this helps! "

Used Watches: Watch Snob - AskMen


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## joelps

Ha reading this chuckling at my desk. thinking of everyone sounding out the name


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## TheCurator

What adlerholz said matches my understanding of the origin of the word, my limited French and the information provided to me in Geneva. I used to pronounce it "Yea-ger" (I watched Pacific Rim...haha) because I understood it to be a German word but as they speak French where they are based, they all say "Jay-jer". Since then whenever I go into a boutique to look at things I can't afford, I at least try to pronounce it their way.


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## antw1

To add my $0.02
I lived between Basel and Zurich in Switzerland for a little less than a year, and I am French.

French-speaking Swiss make watches and cheese.
German-speaking Swiss run very successful banks and wear suits.

They hate each other fiercely.

So it would come as no surprise to me that the French-speaking watchmakers pronounce Jaeger Zhay-zer out of sheer spite for the German language.


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## DrDavid90

"Ja-ja la-cult" You get the idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Seleur

My nearest boutique says "Jay-jer LeCoootre"


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## varvn

Zhah-zhare


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## purekoryo

I've heard Yay-ger a lot more.


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## lonewitness

I would just use the pronunciation JLC is using on youtube


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## bckuang

I've heard AD reps say Yay-ger but JLC is easier and more unlikely to butcher.


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## rbaldwin14

qtip.416 said:


> Do you mean this guy?
> 
> I was cringing when I watched the video. lol.


My favorite part was when he said Tag Whore lol


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## Ursus

It is 100% certain Zhah-zhare. I've had the pleasure to work for them in Switzerland at the HQ, it is zhah-zare (very french pronounciation of Jaeger). It is not pronounced like the Jager in Jägermeister. Which is odd to this day, as anyone I know pronounces it like the jager in Jägermeister 

In english, JLC sounds best imho.


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## vwatchv

I say JLC


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## appleb

This is a video of Jerome Lambert (former CEO of JLC). If anyone is going to pronounce it correctly, it better be him. He says the name several times in the video.


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## GCBC

to bump an old thread.... the ceo just said it 30times at sihh IN PERSON, jzha-jzher-LE-COULT


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## Croatan128

NYC boutique clerk smiled when I said "JLC"- I don't think they care too much if you are buying


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## lhawli

I am from Montreal where French is the first language and my mother is Persian.

I would pronounce it as such:

Yaeger = Yager (like the shots, Jager bombs)
LeCoultre = Le-Cutre (you do not pronounce the “L” and you pronounce the “R” because it ends with an “E”

Yager Le-Cutre


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## bluedialer

Hmmm... When we hear the company CEO, international director of marketing, regional presidents, direct voicemail message at the JLC E-boutique, top watch aficionados, and Swiss people all pronouncing it the same or similar way, I'm not sure why this thread is so long and people insist that it be pronounced some totally different way. Scratching my head!


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## taifighter

I always said Yay-gher but this thread is indeed enlightening haha


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## Watagump

I asked a salesperson at the JLC store in South Coast Plaza, he said the last part is Court, I don't remember how he pronounced the rest of it.


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## VicLeChic

Hi guys, it's pronnounced like this. French is my first language.

https://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5aad3a4e3cd54/VIDEO0259.mp4


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## Rokovakian

bluedialer said:


> Hmmm... When we hear the company CEO, international director of marketing, regional presidents, direct voicemail message at the JLC E-boutique, top watch aficionados, and Swiss people all pronouncing it the same or similar way, I'm not sure why this thread is so long and people insist that it be pronounced some totally different way. Scratching my head!


I agree, this matter is settled. It's not like the Swiss dialect of French is some dead or extinct language, yet the debate continues. That's the internet in a nutshell for you.


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## Hoppyjr

Zhay-zher


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## galavanter

I pick up my first JLC tomorrow, just like the one in this all time greatest, one minute video review from Ralph in Americus, Georgia, USA. I'm pronouncing it like Ralph does cause he's cooler than Clive Owen. Don't forget to go to Pat's Place when you're in Americus.


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## metalaphid

easiest way to find out is via JLC's official youtube account or any of their CEOs' interviews, they love mentioning the brand in full instead of just saying 'Jay-eL-See (C)'.


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## Ju5t1n

👏👏👏 Felicitations!👏👏👏 That was for the most part painful to read. I own 6 JLC timepieces, and went to boarding school in France. My CEFR Level of proficiency in the French language is C2. It’s correctly pronounced “Zhe-zhuh Lih-Coult”


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## DoraTheExplorerII

Jagger La Cooter


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## AnonPi

Here, this video was posted in a thread in another forum, and the name is pronounced repeatedly. If this doesn't settle it, I don't know what can.


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## Whitebread

Go with Yiker and then explain that that is the way they pronounce it in Monaco and see if the US AD starts copying it to sound posh.


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