Talk Like a Pirate Day Celebrated Today
Wednesday has arrived with International Talk Like a Pirate Day and people across the globe are celebrating.
The holiday occurs every year on Sept. 19 with observers taking on the dialect of pirates. For instance, instead of saying, "Hello," those taking part in Talk Like a Pirate Day would say, "Ahoy, matey!"
A website claiming to the official site of Talk Like a Pirate Day indicated that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the worldwide celebration. Moreover, John Baur and Mark Summers created the holiday in 1995, according to talklikeapirate.com.
According to the site, International Talk Like a Pirate Day arose when Baur and Summers, racquetball players, began encouraging one another during the game with "pirate slang."
Talking like a pirate is a "whimsical alternative," the creators explained, and in doing so, ordinarily mundane conversation will take on a fun variation.
Talk Like a Pirate Day springs from the romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy, and the modern conception of pirates as depicted in popular culture is not always historically accurate.
Pirates, or robbers at sea, would attack Spanish colonies and ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific from around 1650 to 1680. Today, dozens of items in pop culture, including the billion-dollar film franchise "Pirates of the Caribbean," originated from the Golden Age of Piracy.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" stars Johnny Depp who portrays Captain Jack Sparrow, and the lead character has inspired many more people to join in on International Talk Like a Pirate Day on Wednesday. On Twitter, many users are citing Captain Sparrow as their inspiration behind celebrating the holiday.
"Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day," wrote Mike. "I think of Captain Jack Sparrow every time I see the word pirate. Like there's no other pirate."
Rick posted, "It is international Pirate Day- your chance to call everyone 'matey' and speak like Captain Jack Sparrow! Gonna be a fun day!"
"Aaaar maties," wrote Thomas. "Let's all talk like captain jack sparrow today! It's international talk like a pirate day!"
Other Twitter users were inspired by the fun lingo and posted several examples of how to transform words into sound more like a pirate.
"Yar! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day," wrote David. "Raid ye pension fund & bury ye loot on Grand Cayman!"
For basic and advanced pirate lingo and examples on how to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day, visit talklikeapirate.com