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Have you been pronouncing Camp Lejeune correctly?

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Pop quiz: What's the name of the big Marine Corps base in Onslow County?

Camp Lejeune, right?

It seems the folks around a North Carolina Marine Corps base have been mispronouncing its name for years.

The last name of the 13th commandant for whom the base is name is pronounced luh-JURN' and not luh-JUNE'.

Former Marine Patrick Brent is coming to the base Friday to give a class to local reporters on just how to say General John A. Lejeune's name.

Brent, a friend of the Lejeune family in Louisiana, aays it is disrespectful to not pronounce the general's name properly.

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lejeune pronunciation

So...is the Lejeune family agitating to have it pronounced one way or the other? If the family (including the Marine leader, long deceased, after whom the base was named) pronounces the name a particular way, that's a good reason to pronounce it that way. One thing I do know is that the pronunciation with the "r" is closer to the way it would be pronounced in the original French -- "Lejeune" is a name with French roots, much as "Eisenhower" has roots in the German language, or "Giuliani" in Italian. In fact, in good French, the "r" would not actually be voiced; the "-eune" would sound more like the way someone in England would pronounce "earn" ("eahn"). My last name is "Weber," which my family has always pronounced like "ever" but with a "w" in front, and a "b" sound instead of a "v" sound. But MOST people pronounce my name as though it were "weaver," although with the "b" instead of "v," of course. I say that THEY are incorrect, because my family decided to pronounce it the way we do. On the other hand, when it comes to place names (and "Lejeune" is now a place name in Onslow, not only a family name in Louisiana), local custom is hard to argue with. We have "Kerr Avenue" here in town. Local custom leans toward sounding like "car" (like the actress Deborah Kerr) although many people nonetheless do pronounce it to rhyme with "her" (like the 1950s actor John Kerr). My conclusion: in Onslow, pronounce "Lejeune" the way it has been pronounced for years up there; and in Louisiana, within the family circle and the family's social circle, pronounce it however the family desires.

wikipedia

John A. Lejeune (pronounced: Luh-zshern )

The Camp website does not give the pronunciation, they are not worried about it either. I am there quite a bit everyone says it the same so technically we are not incorrect.

BRent

How is the public to know theRe is an R in the pRonunciation if theRe is NO R? We know theRe aRe silent letteRs in woRds but ones that aRe not in the woRd at all aRe also silent. Wouldn't you say? WoRthless news.

LeJeune

My father and uncles fought in WWII and it is always Camp Lejeune without an "R". I will always respect the Marine Corp with the name as LeJeune. Beside, there is a mistake in the spelling of "says", so there is probably a mistake in the placement of R in it.
Semper Fi!

Everyone has their own accent

LOL! This is ridiculous. Everyone has an accent and pronounces words differently. There is no one single correct way to pronounce any word or name. Anyone who does not agree should take a course in linguistics.

If we have to pronounce it

If we have to pronounce it correctly, does this mean they have to spell it correctly and add the left out "R".

Well, I recon this changes

Well, I recon this changes things...I recon/I recon/I recon!
Does this mean we can drive thru the base once again if we pronounce it correctly at the gate? :-)

Why is this even an article

Waste of space if you ask me - who cares- say it how you see it- potatoos- potatoes...
is this the best news going on...
Thankful for the men and women who serve on the base but this should not be news...

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