Pirate Talk

Avast, ye swabs! What do the following three jokes sent in by Rachel Baron have in common?

1. What is a pirate’s favorite cheese? [A: Jarlsburg].
2. Which is a pirate’s favorite body of water? [A: The Arctic Ocean].
3. Where do pirates travel in the States? [A: They just love ole Arkansas].

Now, say the answers again – out loud – keeping in mind that today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrrh! Yer right, mateys, it’s talk like a pirate or walk the plank.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Treasure Island (and my all-time favorite plot device, the Black Spot), go to www.talklikeapirateday.com. Don’t ‘ee dare stop to pick up that buried treasure.

You’ll find the whole story there. But the plain fact is that National Talk Like a Pirate Day was invented by John Baur and Mark Summers just over 10 years ago: “…And that really should be all you need to know about the origins of Talk Like a Pirate Day. We're guys. Not men, with responsibility and suits and power ties. We're guys, with all that that implies.”

Robert Louis Stevenson enthusiasts know this. Members of The Gun Room, the Aubrey-Maturin über-group site, know this. Even fans of “Pirates of the Caribbean” know this. Just with the basics (I’ve pirated these from their web site), like:

Ahoy! - "Hello!"
Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."
Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that, sir, as soon as my break is over."
Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

Now ye know it too. Start early – talk like a pirate, ye lubbers, else it’s the Black Spot fer ye. Or a one-way trip to the Arrrtic.