Avast, Me Hearties! In other words, hello friends.
It’s pirate talk and today is the one day a year where you won’t seem totally nuts for speaking like good ol’ Black Beard. Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. And ten years since International Talk Like A Pirate Day got its start, it’s still thriving.
“What once was a goofy idea celebrated by a handful of friends has turned into an international phenomenon that shows no sign of letting up,” reads the International Talk Like A Pirate Day official site. “Maybe you read about us on line. Maybe you caught one of our radio or TV interviews. Or maybe you just stumbled onto our site while googling around for sites your mother probably wouldn’t approve of. Or perhaps you’re one of the millions of people from South Africa to the South Pole, from New York to the Pacific Northwest, who’ve made it your own personal excuse to party like pirates every September 19th (and sometimes for days before and after)!”
National Talk Like A Pirate Day was made public back in 2008, with a column in the Miami Herald by Dave Barry, which read:
“As you can see, talking like a pirate will infuse your everyday conversations with romance and danger. So join the movement! On Sept. 19, do not answer the phone with ”hello.” Answer the phone with ”Ahoy me hearty!” If the caller objects that he is not a hearty, inform him that he is a scurvy dog (or, if the caller is female, a scurvy female dog) who will be walking the plank off the poop deck and winding up in Davy Jones’ locker, sleeping with the fishes. No, wait, that would be Talk Like a Pirate in The Godfather Day, which is another variation I considered (“I’m gonna make him an offer that will shiver his timbers”).”
And went on: “But the point is, this is a great idea, and you, me bucko, should be part of it. Join us on Sept. 19. You HAVE the buckles, darn it: Don’t be afraid to swash them! Let’s make this into a grass-roots movement that sweeps the nation, like campaign-finance reform, or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I truly think this idea could bring us, as a nation, closer together.”
So pick up your pirate slang and bring it to work, to school or around the house with you today. If you want to become really Pirate-fluent, check out English-to-pirate translators.
For events going on in your area, or around the world, celebrating speak like a pirate day check out: International Talk Like A Pirate Day 2011.
