Episode #045, 12.08.2012: Spotlight: pirate speech and International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Arr! Ahoy, mateys! What be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, ye ask? Well, accordin' t' Wikipedia:

International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD) be a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), o' Albany, Oregon, U.S., who proclaimed September 19th each year as t' day when everyone in t' world should talk like a pirate. For example, an observer o' this holiday would greet buckos not with "Hello!," but with "Ahoy, matey!" T' holiday, and its observance, sprin's from a romanticized view o' t' Golden Age o' Piracy.

Savvy, ye landlubbers!? What? Ye know nothin' o' this? Shiver me timbers! Well, let me tell you some words (from t' website o' t' two scallywags):

Avast!	Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense o' surprise, “Whoa! Get a load o' that!” which today makes it more o' a “Check it out” or “No way!” or “Get off!”
Aye!	“Why yes, I agree most heartily with everythin' ye just said or did.”
Arrr!	This one be often confused with arrrgh, which be o' course t' sound ye make when ye sit on a belayin' pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, “aye,” “I'm happy,” “I'm enjoying this grog,” “me team be goin' t' win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and “That was a clever remark you or I just made.” And those be just a few o' t' meriad possibilities o' Arrr!
Lubber (or land lubber)	This be t' seaman’s version o' land lover, mangled by typical pirate disregard for elocution (proper speech). A lubber be someone who does not go t' sea, who stays on t' land.
Hornpipe	Both a sin'le-reeded musical instrument jack tars often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that jack tars do.

There be a lot o' people who like pirate speech. For example, thar be Pirate Google: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate

On Facebook, ye can also change yer language t' pirate English. Then ye can send “bottle o’ messages”, update yer “captain’s log”, plan “grog fests”, “fashion yerself a crew” and interact with other “scallywags”.

That’s it, lassies and lads! Drink up me hearties yo ho!

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