# Pronounce "voir dire" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505 "2011-05-02T19:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/1 "2011-05-02T19:48:05Z")
I’ve been talking to an attorney who pronounces this, not as I would (in the French style) or even in a vaguely Americanized French way, but in some strange neither here-nor-there way, something like “voyer dyer,” even after I’ve pronounced this in my own elegant French style, rolling my "r"s all over the place. Am I being pretentious or does a lawyer (who seems to do a voir dire every other week, it seems) not understand that the term is French? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/2 "2011-05-02T19:55:16Z")
/[Vwauh deer](http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#auto%7Cfr%7Csee%20say)/ ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/3 "2011-05-02T19:57:46Z")
I’d go with a declamatory _Muad’Dib_! and hope no one notices. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/4 "2011-05-02T19:59:00Z")
What does “voir dire” mean in US law? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/5 "2011-05-02T20:00:46Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > /[Vwauh deer](http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#auto%7Cfr%7Csee%20say)/ Now say it like Joe Pesci! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/6 "2011-05-02T20:04:54Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > What does “voir dire” mean in US law? It refers to the questioning of prospective jurors by the lawyers, to get a sense of whether they would be suitable members of the jury. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/7 "2011-05-02T20:07:49Z")
Most people I know try to pronounce it as close as they can to what they think it sounds like in French. I’ve never heard “voyer dyer,” but “voyer deer” isn’t unheard of. Most will take a shot at “vwar deer.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/8 "2011-05-02T20:09:04Z")
vwauhr deer ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/9 "2011-05-02T20:12:53Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Now say it like Joe Pesci! /[veuhwaaah daaair](http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#it%7Cit%7Cvwaah%20daair)/ ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/10 "2011-05-02T20:17:57Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > It refers to the questioning of prospective jurors by the lawyers, to get a sense of whether they would be suitable members of the jury. Ha ok, a voir dire tip would be: vohar deer war woar I put three different voir tips, cause it’s gonna be harder to say properly anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/11 "2011-05-02T20:18:33Z")
Something like “voyer dyer” is somewhat common in parts of the American South. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/12 "2011-05-02T20:18:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > vwauhr deer This is the closest I’ve seen to how I say it. I say the first word to rhyme with the way I say _noir_, which is to say I _do_ pronounce the _r_. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/13 "2011-05-02T20:23:10Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > /[Vwauh deer](http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#auto%7Cfr%7Csee%20say)/ Neatly proving that some sounds just cannot be transliterated into English 🙂 “ee” is too long a sound. The French “i” does have a similar sonority but is not stressed nor involves a diphthong. And of course "r"s are pronounced completely differently in the two languages. Short of IPA, there’s just no way to write how “voir dire” is supposed to be pronounced (or how it’s pronounced in French at any rate), because English just doesn’t feature those sounds. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/14 "2011-05-02T20:24:28Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Am I being pretentious or does a lawyer (who seems to do a voir dire every other week, it seems) not understand that the term is French? It’s not so much French as “[Law French](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_French),” basically courtroom French dating back to the Norman conquest that English speaking lawyers have been twisting for a couple of centuries. It doesn’t translate in modern French; the Law French meaning of voir dire is “to speak the truth,” whereas in modern French it would translate to something more like “to see saying.” My Black’s Law Dictionary lists at least three different pronunciations for “voir dire,” each arguably correct. A quick wikipedia check shows that 30% of English words come from French, so it’s not as if this is a special instance of a French term losing its original French pronunciation. [List of English words of French origin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_French_origin) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/15 "2011-05-02T21:29:27Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > It refers to the questioning of prospective jurors by the lawyers, to get a sense of whether they would be suitable members of the jury. It also refers to the examination of expert witnesses to determine if they are qualified to testify (as occurs in “My Cousin Vinny” hilariously) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/16 "2011-05-02T21:33:35Z")
_My Cousin Vinny_ is the only time I’ve heard the phrase used with that meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/17 "2011-05-02T21:44:02Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > It’s not so much French as “[Law French](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_French),” O yez? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/18 "2011-05-02T21:46:53Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > _My Cousin Vinny_ is the only time I’ve heard the phrase used with that meaning. Was the first time for me too, but it’s apparently the correct term (see [Daubert standard - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daubert)). ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/19 "2011-05-02T23:23:17Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Something like “voyer dyer” is somewhat common in parts of the American South. My lawyer friend practices about 500 feet from Mexico. So this may be a regional pronunciation? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505/20 "2011-05-03T00:21:04Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Something like “voyer dyer” is somewhat common in parts of the American South. I’m getting this image of two little fawns staring into a window with bulging eyes and shocked, fascinated expressions. You know, _voyeur deer_! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounce-voir-dire/580505.md?page=2)