Pop Culture dictionary
Talk Like a Pirate Day
[ arrrrrrr ]
What is Talk Like a Pirate Day?
Talk Like a Pirate Day is a silly, informal holiday celebrated by speaking in the manner of a classic fictional pirate character—saying things like Arrr, ye scallywags and Ahoy, mateys.
🗓 When is Talk Like a Pirate Day?
Talk Like a Pirate Day is observed each year on September 19.
Where does Talk Like a Pirate Day come from?
The invention of Talk Like a Pirate Day is attributed to friends John Baur and Mark Summers, who came up with the idea in 1995. The two had so much fun trash-talking in pirate voices during a game of racquetball that they thought a whole day should be devoted to it each year, in the spirit of other lighthearted holidays like Pi Day. The day remained an informal celebration among friends for several years until humor columnist Dave Barry wrote about it in 2002. The holiday has gained in popularity since then.
What are other words used in discussion of Talk Like a Pirate Day?
Examples of Talk Like a Pirate Day
Why do pirates say arrr?
Real, “golden age” pirates—the ones that inspired books and movies like Treasure Island—came from many different places, and didn’t all talk the same, especially not in the “pirate accent” we know today. The popular notion of pirate-speak is thought to have been influenced by movie pirates, notably English actor Robert Newton, who portrayed Long John Silver and Blackbeard in the 1950s using a Bristol accent.
In certain regions of England, an interjection resembling arrr was historically used to indicate things like excitement or agreement. Similar terms and spellings include argh (pronounced arr or arg) and yar. The number of r’s at the end of the word can vary widely depending on how salty of a seadog ye be.
Note
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