Avast! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Avast, me hearty maties! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!
For the uninitiated, a pair of Oregonians launched Talk Like a Pirate Day quite a few years ago, and well, it's taken off. They were even on ABC's obnoxious "Wife Swap" show last night. Anyway, play along. It'll be fun. Trust us.
So, how does one talk like a pirate? A few samples from the "How to Talk Like a Pirate" page...
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!
Bilge rat – The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. It’s loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, then, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship.
Lubber – (or land lubber) This is the seaman’s version of land lover, mangled by typical pirate disregard for elocution. A lubber is someone who does not go to sea, who stays on the land.
So... to make this a BlueOregon item... We're inviting BlueOregon readers to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day... What would Karen Minnis sound like if she talked like a pirate? What about Ron Saxton? Oooh, or maybe Bill Sizemore, Gordon Smith, or the real pirate... Howie Rich!
And, sure, let's make it bipartisan: What would pirates Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Ron Wyden, or Ted Kulongoski sound like?
Get on it, chumbucket!
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Sept. 19, 2006
Posted in open discussion. |
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Sep 19, '06
How would Gordon Smith sound as a pirate:
"Shiver me timbers, the french cuffs on me designer suit are ruffled."
9:33 a.m.
Sep 19, '06
It should be noted that the "Pirate accent" is actually a parody of a "West County Accent", which is a rural dialect in South West Britain. As Answers.com puts it, "The West Country dialects derive not from a corrupted form of modern English, but reflect the historical origins of the English language and its historical pronunciation, in particular Late West Saxon, which formed one of the earliest English language standards."
It goes on to quote Lt-Col J.A. Garton, saying, "The dialect is not, as some people suppose, English spoken in a slovenly and ignorant way. It is the remains of a language - the court language of King Alfred. Many words, thought to be wrongly pronounced by the countryman, are actually correct, and it is the accepted pronunciation which is wrong. English pronounces W-A-R-M worm, and W-O-R-M wyrm; in the dialect W-A-R-M is pronounced as it is spelt, Anglo-Saxon W-E-A-R-M. The Anglo-Saxon for worm is W-Y-R-M. Polite English pronounces W-A-S-P wosp; the Anglo-Saxon word is W-O-P-S and a Somerset man still says WOPSE. The verb To Be is used in the old form, I be, Thee bist, He be, We be, Thee 'rt, They be. 'Had I known I wouldn't have gone', is 'If I'd a-know'd I 'ooden never a-went'; 'A' is the old way of denoting the past tense, and went is from the verb to wend (Anglo-Saxon wendan)."
. . . On the other hand, the "ARRRRRRRR" business was entirely created out of whole cloth by writers.
Sep 19, '06
You want pirate parley? How's this:
"This debate is occurring because of the Supreme Court's ruling that said that we must conduct ourselves under the Common Article III of the Geneva Convention. And that Common Article III says that there will be no outrages upon human dignity. It's very vague. What does that mean, 'outrages upon human dignity'? That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation." -G. W. Bush, Sept. 15, 2006.
Source: The White House's own press release! You'd think they'd at least try to sneak this in under a false flag. Bilge rats, indeed.
9:56 a.m.
Sep 19, '06
One point here is the tie-in between declining pirate populations and global warming. Check out the chart for more info.
Unfortunately, my belief system reqires that I not talk like a pirate unless I'm wearing full pirate regalia.
Sep 19, '06
Wow, steve!
You really know how to take the fun out of talking like a pirate.
or ...
Matey, I'll run ya through if ya keep spewin' that book learnin'. Now git ta pillagin'
(above statement can also be used as George W. Bush talking like a pirate).
Sep 19, '06
Reading these posts makes me feel embarrassed for everyone. Please stop, I feel like I'll throw up on my key board.
Sep 19, '06
Arr. Ye swabbies arr doin' jest fine.
John the Embarrassed should be walkin' the plank. The idea of the First Amendment doesn't include censorship because it be causin' the landlubber nauseousness. I'll ken he's got a wee touch of the seasickness.
Avast, ye sea dogs: regardin' that pirate Howie Rich, NOW on PBS will be doin' a whole show on him Friday night on OPB at 9 pm and rebroadcast again Saturday mornin' at 3 am.
Fifteen ballot measures on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum!
(Or, fer the landlubber: a bottle of Perrier).
Arrgh!
3:05 p.m.
Sep 19, '06
At a summer school for young children taught by central Oregon high school students, this song was sung on Pirate Day:
I'm a pirate, this I be I sail me ship upon the sea I stay up late 'till half past three And that's a peg below my knee
We all know that's not a true representation of pirates, because it's well known that most of them were abed by 9:30.
I'm pretty sure there's a link between pirates and global warming. I'd study it more, but bedtime comes early on me ship, and me peg is needing some Thompson's Water Seal.
3:08 p.m.
Sep 19, '06
At a summer school for young children taught by central Oregon high school students, this song was sung on Pirate Day:
I'm a pirate, this I be I sail me ship upon the sea I stay up late 'till half past three And that's a peg below my knee
We all know that's not a true representation of pirates, because it's well known that most of them were abed by 9:30.
I'm pretty sure there's a link between pirates and global warming. I'd study it more, but bedtime comes early on me ship, and me peg is needing some Thompson's Water Seal.
3:41 p.m.
Sep 19, '06