# Barack? It's Pronounced "Ore-EYE-un" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310 "2009-03-30T14:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/1 "2009-03-30T14:59:18Z")
I’m sure glad we have a SMART president now, unlike the idiot who didn’t know how to pronounce “nucular.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ptVowTJDKyE/hqdefault.jpg "Barack Obama mispronounces Orion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptVowTJDKyE) Wonder when Letterman will start broadcasting this one. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/2 "2009-03-30T15:02:50Z")
Maybe he visited Orion, Illinois in his youth. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/3 "2009-03-30T18:09:26Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > … unlike the idiot who didn’t know how to pronounce “nucular.” We’ve had two of these, one of whom served on a nuclear submarine. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/4 "2009-03-30T18:21:51Z")
At about 10 seconds in, he stops and asks Neal Verfuerth, President and CEO of Orion, if he’s saying it properly, but it’s not clear if “it” refers to the name of the company (which may have an idiosyncratic pronunciation) or Neal’s last name. So, first, I’d like some confirmation that Obama is, indeed, mispronouncing anything at all. After that, I can go ahead and continue with my not caring one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/5 "2009-03-30T18:22:11Z")
I’m guessing that Obama will be able to correct himself. We’ll see. > [@Xema](#): > > We’ve had two of these, one of whom served on a nuclear submarine. No, Carter never served on a “nukuler” submarine. He left the program before completion. He still was in the program long enough to learn the correct pronunciation, although was apparently unable to overcome his Georgia accent to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/6 "2009-03-30T18:28:19Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > At about 10 seconds in, he stops and asks Neal Verfuerth, President and CEO of Orion, if he’s saying it properly, but it’s not clear if “it” refers to the name of the company (which may have an idiosyncratic pronunciation) or Neal’s last name. So, first, I’d like some confirmation that Obama is, indeed, mispronouncing anything at all. He seems to be asking about the CEO’s name. Obama did come back to the microphone after finishing his prepared remarks to correct his pronunciation of “Orion.” From [here](http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/41689067.html): > [@](#): > > After finishing his remarks and talking with a few people, the president returned to the microphone and said his prepared remarks led him to pronounce the firm’s name wrong. > > “I suspect this is Or-EYE-on as opposed to OAR-ee-on. Just wanted to make sure that when I’m giving you a plug, that we’ve got the right plug. It’s Or-EYE-on.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/7 "2009-03-30T18:28:24Z")
Nevermind: just found a company promo on YouTube, and “Orion” is pronounced the way you’d expect. Still, Obama got “Verfuerth” correct, which is impressive in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/8 "2009-03-30T18:49:13Z")
Just want to point out that I would have pronounced it “Oh-RYE-un”, not “Ore-EYE-un”. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/9 "2009-03-30T19:49:42Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > No, Carter never served on a “nukuler” submarine. He left the program before completion. Thanks for the correction. Wiki confirms that he trained to be an engineering officer on a nuclear sub, but left the Navy before any were actually in service. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/10 "2009-03-30T19:54:08Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Just want to point out that I would have pronounced it “Oh-RYE-un”, not “Ore-EYE-un”. But that’s just me. Same here. [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) and [merriam-webster.com](http://merriam-webster.com) back us up. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/11 "2009-03-30T21:27:42Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > But that’s just me. No, it’s not. BTW, it always tickles the hell out of me to see **ShibbOleth** turn up in any pronunciation thread. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/12 "2009-03-31T00:22:27Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > He seems to be asking about the CEO’s name. > > Obama did come back to the microphone after finishing his prepared remarks to correct his pronunciation of “Orion.” From [here](http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/41689067.html): And therein lies the difference between the two people. One who acknowledges and corrects his mistakes, and one who doesn’t give a royal fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/13 "2009-03-31T01:15:47Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Just want to point out that I would have pronounced it “Oh-RYE-un”, not “Ore-EYE-un”. But that’s just me. Er, maybe I’m just clueless here but what is the difference? Would one of these have a long o as the first syllable rather than a schwa? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/14 "2009-03-31T03:08:31Z")
Fun fact from Ovid: Orion was formed from the urine of three gods. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/15 "2009-03-31T03:25:27Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Maybe he visited Orion, Illinois in his youth. As someone who grew up very close to that town of less than 2,000 people, I’m impressed that someone who doesn’t even live in North America made this comment. Well played. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/16 "2009-03-31T11:02:57Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Just want to point out that I would have pronounced it “Oh-RYE-un”, not “Ore-EYE-un”. But that’s just me. Not just you - my dialect has it “oh-RYE-un” ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/17 "2009-03-31T11:45:15Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Er, maybe I’m just clueless here but what is the difference? Would one of these have a long o as the first syllable rather than a schwa? One of them includes the R in the first syllable, the other doesn’t. It’s a very subtle difference, as opposed to the President’s apparent gaffe, which sounds more like he was reading from a teleprompter without thinking about the word. IMO it seemed he was so concerned with correctly pronouncing that guy’s name that he didn’t think about the name of the company. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/18 "2009-03-31T12:05:27Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > As someone who grew up very close to that town of less than 2,000 people, I’m impressed that someone who doesn’t even live in North America made this comment. Well played. Why thank you. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/19 "2009-03-31T12:20:02Z")
Am I missing something here, or is this thread intended to equate the language skills of the current US President with the skills of the barely functionally verbal previous incumbent? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310/20 "2009-03-31T13:34:57Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Am I missing something here, or is this thread intended to equate the language skills of the current US President with the skills of the barely functionally verbal previous incumbent? You’d think we’d have better things to worry about these days. I guess not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-its-pronounced-ore-eye-un/491310.md?page=2)