Talk:Oorah

Section name change

i changed the name of the section title "Facts about Oorah" to "Other uses of Oorah" because i believe the new name explains the section better Maxtitan 21:27 18 March 2008 —Preceding comment was added at 21:28, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Meaning

I removed the text "it means anything and everything except no". It may have a lot of meanings, but it is certainly not this broad. H2O 22:50, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

You obviously never served in the Corps. "Anything and everything except no" is accepted as the official definition. 69.141.213.168 18:19, 20 July 2006 (UTC) Semper fi.

So...for instance does it mean "pancakes"? Let's be clinical here, not motarded.

I believe what the author above meant to say was that "oorah" is an expression that can be applied to many situations, e.g. an expression of determination, motivation, informal confirmation, readiness, informal acknowledgement, neutrality, happiness, excitement, victory, or informal agreement, etc. I agree, however, that we should summarize the definition to convey its broad usage, while not appearing too general in its wording. Semper Fi. - USLeatherneck 15:25, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

"Would you like pancakes?" "Oohrah." (Just playing Devil's Motard.) --Johnny (Cuervo) 03:55, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

Hooah

How come Searching For Hooah Redirects here? It's not the same thing and the Article doesn't really have much Information on it, what it does gives conflicting information as well.

I split the articles since it was obvious that the two sayings are used in different branches and having them combined made the article seem schizophrenic. Littleman TAMU 17:24, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Does anybody else with previous Marine experience have a problem with the omission of the fact that Marines, at least between 1986 and 1995, would NEVER pronounce the "h" as in "Hoorah"? I mean, it's a minuscule distinction but one a Marine would surely point out. For example, when you hear Marines in movies saying it like "WHO-rah", me and my Marine buddies will bristle because NO Marine we know would do this. Anyway, it might be original research and more than a little anecdotal but I thought it might be a distinction on this page worth pointing out.Twiddy (talk) 13:34, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Dialect distinction: some Marines with different accents do have a faint "h" sound when they pronounce it. It's not a hard H sound like in "Hooah" or "who", but it is there for some people. It's just hard for them to not have a consanant sound there because of they way they've been speaking all thier lives. But yeah, OR. bahamut0013^words_deeds 14:31, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Marines never pronounce the "oorah" with an H in the beginning, at least none of the ones I served with (2004-2008). Even those that spoke other languages as a primary didn't use an H; not even our translators in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka or the Phillipines used an H. As far as the origins, I'm surprised none of you Marines remember your "big green monster" from boot camp or the history classes which attributed the usage of "oorah" to the campaign of Derne and Tripoli in 1800. The handfull of marines at the presentation of the Mameluke sword from Hamet Karamanli to First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon mispronounced "öldürmek" (kill them all in Turkish) as "oorah" and it has stuck with us since. Though the Recon bubbas popularized it in Korea, "oorah" has been in use by U.S. Marines in some form for more than two hundred years. SEMPER FI and OORAH!!! CPL Christopher S. Hansen, III MHG (04-06) and Office of LT. General Coleman, Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (06-08). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.88.69.27 (talk) 23:41, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

This is easily the most plausible origin for it that I've heard. All the possibilities on the current version of the article sound like urban legends and backronyms. MrBook (talk) 21:48, 7 March 2012 (UTC)

Concur. Laodah 22:19, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

Submariners

Note: Submariners would be likely to phonectically spell the classic air-driven diving-klaxon sound as "Bye-YOOOO-Gah." The S.O.P. announcent "Dive, Dive" from the Chief of the Watch would come over the loudspeaker "1MC Circuit," not the "PA." All shipboard Marines (submarine, surface or otherwise) would be familiar with the 1MC (although maybe not the diving klaxon). I'm not saying the story is false, just that these details should be corrected. Please, Jarhead-Wiki-Editors, incorporate this info into this otherwise fine Marine Corps page.

You should update it, you obviously know a lot about it. --Awiseman 18:15, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Originally, the entire "Note: Submariners would be likely..." entry was added to the main article. It was moved intact to the discussion page (for discussion, I suppose). Having now been discussed, I'll fix some minor details. JamesMadison 12:01, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Note: Marines are not put on Submarines. Marines put on ships that are above water. Marines do not belong below water. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.8.119.248 (talk) 11:34, 29 June 2009

Force Recon Marines (and Marine Raiders before them) have used submarines as a delivery method and as launching points for a mission. bahamut0013^words_deeds 10:33, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Oorah in Hebrew (or Yiddish)?

Does oorah mean "awaken" in Hebrew language or perhaps Yiddish language? If so, it is an interesting coincidence at the very least. Maybe when the marines shout, they're trying to wake up so they can do combat more awake and thus more effectively! Siyavash 14:55, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Probably not. JamesMadison 11:33, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Turkish origin?

The article states ...In fact, the Turkish word for "kill" is "öldürmek". However, the Russian battlecry of "Urrah!" can supposedly be traced to the Turkish word for "Kill.". Could it be a Turkic word, i.e. one of those many languages spoken by the Turkic peoples that the Russians have been encountering through their history? It wasn't just the Boys from Istanbul that the Warlike Lads of Russia have dealt with in the thousand or so years since Hroerkr thought, "Hmmm, my beet soup got cold..." --SigPig 04:21, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

there is an old Crimean Tatar (which is a Turkic language) word / battle cry that goes "Urarga!" which I think meant "forward!" or "kill!"... anyways I'm sure it was a battle cry though. --Calengurth (talk) 04:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Slavic origin?

I read once that Oorah and Hooray come from a Slavic phrase U raj! meaning To paradise! This is pronounced as oo in "fool" and rye in "rye". I spent a few minutes searching the Web for this etymology, and I haven't found anything.

It sounds like a thing a (paradise-believing) warrior would shout before running into battle. Actual shouting may sound more like OOOO-RAAAAAAAAA... i.e. Urah or Oorah. Adding an "H" in front could yield Hooray and Hoorah.

Actually, I'm not certain how widespread phrase U raj is—I'm basing this on Croatian/Serbian. Slovenian is similar: v raj. Modern Russian spelling of oo-rye would be "у рай", which (according to Babel Fish) means "in the paradise".

Hrvoje Šimić 17:54, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

It seems you are right. Sea diver 12:25, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm curious: do you have some info to back this theory? Hrvoje Šimić 22:09, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

I just read similar version of "U raj" origin in Russian history books.Sea diver 08:32, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

I added this theory to the article. If you could cite that book as reference, it would be great. Hrvoje Šimić 10:03, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'll try to recall the book's title Sea diver 10:59, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

"Ura" is a very old Russian war cry (three "ura", the third prolonged), you can hear it in war songs before the soviet era and during; I was surprised to find no mention of this in the article. You can even find it acting as a "noun" in phrases like "and a great URA threw back the enemy", or "for Czar, Motherland and Faith we cry out a mighty URA, URA, URAAA" and other examples, these I only quote from memory. I have read its origin is actually Mongolian, but it certainly does not originate with 20th century US Marines! Lucius Domitius (talk)

I respect everyone's research and heritage, but until someone actually has a reputable reference basically saying "the Marine saying/grunt/noise 'oorah' is derived from x language" this discussion is moot. Even if Sea Diver finds his reference, that is still only evidence that "u raj" is of Russian origin. Saying that "u raj" beget "oorah" just because they sound similar is speculative and original research. I agree that the US Marines did not invent grunts or guttural sounds or even use them first as responses in military situations, but that also doesn't mean that they derived or acquired "oorah" from another language or culture just because that language or culture has a similar sounding word/phrase and that culture used it in a military setting. The Marines could have "invented" the sound on their own, or they could have adapted it from some other culture, but, until anyone has a credible source(s) stating one way or the other, neither side should be put in the article.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 00:58, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Incorrect definition of Oorah

" but is probably more commonly used among Marines than Hooah would be in the Army. It is most commonly used to respond in the affirmative to a question, to acknowledge an order"

All of this is complete garbage. I don't have a lot of time to go into the details but there are many variations to "oorah" from "yut"s to more commonly, barks.

As for "affirmative to a question." Negative. "Do you have your canteen?" an "oorah" would not be appropriate.

However, Hooah for soldiers is used more as an interrogative much the same as "good to go?" would be in the Marine Corps. Oorah would never be used to acknowlege an order. Again "good to go" would be correct, although informal.

Oorah is used as a battle cry and "how we doing Leathernecks/Devil Dogs/Marine/gentlemen?" oorah, sir or the aforementioned yut or bark is acceptable and expected. (along with being Outstanding!)

I will correct this shortly if noone else does before me.

--ProdigySportsman 03:17, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

In Support of Incorrect definition of Oorah

I understand completely on where ProdigySportsman is touching base on his analogy...I feel that he is correct on many aspects. I have noticed throughout my time in the Corps - experienced by me and by my junior and senior Marines around me that it actually became embroidered as a 'universal' context, unexplainable. Even in the Army and Navy that has their own variant form. It depends on how the Marine is utilizing "Oorah" in his/her own manner. Basely depending on how how he/she expresses it more or less. I have used it in many ranges and of variety manners of speaking when corresponding to acknowledgement of a command or just plainly outside an unfathomable sense, and we as Marines, totally comprehend its context without further question. But again as ProdigySportsman as emphasized, the terminology has to be reworked according to my perspective. I cannot stress enough about how it is used because it is a unique 'universal' one-word motive that has to be used in conjunction of the Marines present influenced situation. Oorah! God Speed and Semper Fi. Over and out!
User:RekonDog | 15:24, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Movies using the phrase

I don't think we need to list movies in which the phrase is used. Right now there's only a few examples, but I know there are tons more and adding them all would distract from the article. I also don't think that including them adds anything useful to the article. I wanted to see what you guys think before I removed them, but that's my plan. Littleman TAMU 20:27, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Redirect

I think we should redirect this page to "US Marines Battle cry". There's just something funny about "oorah". JetLover 04:02, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I disagree. It's not the official battle cry of the Marines and "oorah" sounding funny to you doesn't strike me as a good reason to rename/redirect the article.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 05:18, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I understand your point, but what I'm saying is that "oorah" doesn't sound proper. I'm saying, would we have an article about screaming called "aaah!" That's what I'm saying. But I respect your opinion. JetLover 03:05, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Weasel Words

What is this tag about? I agree that the article needs more sources, but can someone explain why this tag is here? If not, I'm going to remove it since there doesn't seem to be any good reason for it.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 05:18, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I went ahead and removed the tag since no one gave a reason for it.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 23:25, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Proposed Origins

This section is really bad. It seems to be a collection of original research and speculation by editors who happen to know the meaning of a similar sounding word in some other language. This section has absolutely no sources and I think it should just be scrapped. This whole article needs more sources and less speculation.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 23:25, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Facts

Took out " "Oorah" is also used by two marines in Halo 2 in a pelican" (exact text) It's both horribly written and horribly irrelevant, as well as reaking of the immature fanboy who wrote it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.109.99.2 (talk) 12:26, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

In Popular Culture

This article used to have a section listing many games and movie characters that used the phrase. At the time it was almost as long, if not longer than the amount actual relevant information about the topic. While "In Popular Culture" sections aren't forbidden, they are discouraged. This article in particular lacks sources and none of the "trivia" items I have seen added to this article have sources much less verifiable sources. If someone can give good reason and verifiable sources for some trivia items, I would consider supporting them, but until then, this section just drags an article that really needs help even farther down.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 01:14, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Sources

I was looking for sources for the article and found this site http://www.mcllakehavasu.org/mchistory.htm. Either this article plagiarizes that site or vice-versa.--Littleman_TAMU ^(talk) 16:45, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Propaganda

WTF how can the word Propaganda not be POV take the damn word out. My grandfather was there, my dad was a Marine, I was a Marine for 10 years. The word Propaganda IS a point of view and is flame bait. There is no possible way that word should be in there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Oregon native (talk • contribs) 16:27, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Not unique to the US Marines

It's a standard exclamation/battle cry in Russian (үра!). The article should not be written from the perspective of the US Marines. In fact, it probably belongs in Wiktionary. Slac speak up! 01:42, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Somebody recently moved it from Oorah to Oorah (Marines). Not really sure why he/she didn't just use template:Otheruses instead. Feel free to move it back if you like, or perhaps move it to Oorah (battle cry). bahamut0013^words_deeds 05:19, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Sound File

Given that this is an article about a sound, I think it would be good if someone could record it, upload it, and place it in the article. Jaimeastorga2000 (talk) 09:37, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

'Er!'

'

It's no in-joke. bahamut0013^words_deeds 19:53, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Glad to know the person I'm thinking of hasn't defiled this article. Can you provide some proof or citation regarding the use of a guttural monosyllabic "ER!" in place of an "Oorah!"? I have really never heard of this before. --90.193.8.83 (talk) 00:09, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

No. Not sure who did add it, or even if it is appropriate for this article. bahamut0013^words_deeds 01:21, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm sure it's not an in-joke, I've heard it since I was recruited in 2002, and heard it in lots of different places since. But the point I make is that it's not really related to Oorah other than both being a catch-all response. That and the lack of sources. bahamut0013^words_deeds 11:53, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

It's definitely NOT a joke. Having served from 1984 to 1989 I can attest to the shortened "er!" In fact I had to chuckle when I read it, it brought back definite memories. I can't provide sources except to say I heard it countless times.MarechalNey (talk) 23:32, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

As a Marine from 2003-2006 I concur, no joke. "Er" or "Errah" and even simply "Rah" are the "lazy" or "salty" (experienced) form of "oorah" as a way to respond in the affirmative, particularly with a lack of motivation about the subject. Example: (Leader) "PT tomorrow morning 0600, be there 0545. Reveille 0530. Oorah?" (Junior Marines) "Er". An intersting aside, the louder and more exaggerated enthusiasm put into the "er" or "errah" indicates greater levels of apathy and disdain for the particular subject, i.e. sarcasm bordering on insubordination. 24.40.86.151 (talk) 01:47, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

Stupid

What a stupid article. The cry is obviously borrowed from the Russian armed forces, who have been using Ура!/Ura/"Oorah" since the regiments of Peter the Great, possibly further back. All this nonsense about "ororo", "ahuga" and only a passing mention of the Russian cry at the very end is utterly ridiculous. 90.147.23.93 (talk) 09:34, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Careful not to be too nasty to your fellow editors, hm? (words like "what a stupid article" do not exactly indicate a Neutral POV, as it were). An old comment this one but it's worth pointing out. You're supposed to Assume Good Faith and not, basically, try to start flame wars; calling the article "stupid" and implying people are "stupid" because something seems "obvious" to you and because you personally think certain elements are "nonsense" or "ridiculous" -- all of this, wording things like this, is a good way to start a flame war, which means it's inappropriate talk for Wikipedia. Otherwise known as "Seriously, don't be a jerk about it, there's literally no good that comes of it. None. So don't."

In address to your concerns though the problem with your critique is that a.) multiple cultures do seem to have developed some variant of a similar cry (probably because a guttural like that works for the purpose), not JUST "the Russian armed forces" and b.) there is literally NO source that seems to be fully definitive to how the US Marine Corps itself started to use it or from whom they pulled it the most - and the article itself is specifically on the US Marine Corps usage.

Thus, no, it is not "obviously" borrowed from that specific source. It's not unlikely that it might have been, but it's not definitively sourced as a claim. Therefore, no it is not "ridiculous" or "nonsense" to mention the other claims that have been made (with their appropriate fully-cited sources for those claims), as no one individual claim has ever been able to be definitively proven to the EXCLUSION of the others. There's no founding member of the Marine Corps whose diary has been found saying "We decided to use a battle cry from Russia" or anything like that, which means it ALL is speculation - including the "Russian armed forces" claim.

Basically what I'm saying is, what seems "obvious" to you is an opinion. And opinions are not what Wikipedia articles are meant to be written as. If a notable academic or news source makes a claim, it may be cited, as "this person made this claim, in this material about it" but as I said no "definitive" origin for the US Marine Corps usage is actually established, so excluding the others just because you personally disbelieve the other theories, would be the kind of bias Wikipedia does not ostensibly allow for.

Wikipedia is NOT a definitive source on anything; Wikipedia is merely here to provide coverage of other people's research, commentary, and media, in as objective a manner possible. What you were asking of the article was for it to be something that Wikipedia was never intended to be: an authority on a subject, rather than covering information others have produced about a subject. 97.102.79.98 (talk) 07:41, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

The term means "kill".

I think this statement needs a reference, as in most usages of the term it would seem to mean something else. Indeed, there is so much variation and uncertainty in possible meaning and use, that I would delete the sentence altogether. Oorah. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MarvinLuse (talk • contribs) 13:13, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

Requested move 30 July 2019

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Moved. Note: The disambiguation page isn't required any more as it only has two entries, one of which is primary. Per WP:TWODABS.  — Amakuru (talk) 10:07, 17 August 2019 (UTC)

---

• Oorah (Marines) → Oorah
• Oorah → Oorah (disambiguation)

The Marine term gets an order of magnitude more views than the organization. I suggest moving it to Oorah and getting rid of the disambiguation per WP:TWODABS. _{ZXCVBNM (TALK)} 21:43, 30 July 2019 (UTC)--Relisting. DannyS712 (talk) 06:38, 8 August 2019 (UTC)

•  Relisting note Oorah wasn't tagged for this RM until now, so this should not be closed for another 7 days. --DannyS712 (talk) 06:38, 8 August 2019 (UTC)
• Support due to primacy on both criteria - page views and long-lasting significance. Red Slash 02:04, 9 August 2019 (UTC)
• Support. Clear primary topic.--Cúchullain ^t/c 12:25, 15 August 2019 (UTC)
• Support per the above. bd2412 T 23:02, 15 August 2019 (UTC)

---

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.