WEBVTT - FunStuff Playlist 06: Did Pirates Really Talk Like That?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. In two thousand two,

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<v Speaker 1>syndicated columnist Dave Barry wrote an article that changed our world.

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<v Speaker 1>He revealed that John Bauer and Mark Summers, two guys

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<v Speaker 1>who enjoyed playing racquetball, discovered that the game was much

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<v Speaker 1>more fun if everyone spoke in stereotypical pirates slang. And

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<v Speaker 1>then they extrapolated that the world would be much more

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<v Speaker 1>fun if everyone's spoke in stereotypical pirate slang. So they

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<v Speaker 1>designated a day for it September nineteen, and appealed to

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<v Speaker 1>Barry to spread the good word about Talk Like a

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<v Speaker 1>Pirate Day, and Barry did. He wrote, you have the buckles,

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<v Speaker 1>darn it, don't be afraid to swash them. And with

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<v Speaker 1>those wise words, a tradition was born. Chances are you've

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<v Speaker 1>seen evidence of talk like a Pirate Day. Social media

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<v Speaker 1>hosts a plethora of pirate puns. National chains like Long

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<v Speaker 1>John Silver's and less thematically Crispy Cream offer free items

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<v Speaker 1>to folks and costume it's the one day a year

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<v Speaker 1>that the word are is considered an acceptable alternative to yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>But did pirates really talk like that the answer is

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<v Speaker 1>not really. Our concept of piratical speech stems mainly from

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<v Speaker 1>a series of memorable performances by the actor Robert Newton.

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<v Speaker 1>He appeared in several films and TV shows as a pirate,

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<v Speaker 1>playing such characters as Long John Silver in the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty Disney adaptation of Treasure Island. Now we did a

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<v Speaker 1>shame to see you in such ill condition perch Kim

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<v Speaker 1>a drop round to worm as Billy as he passes over,

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<v Speaker 1>and the dreaded Edward Teach better known as black Beard

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<v Speaker 1>in two is black Beard the Pirate? Now? What kind

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<v Speaker 1>of a fool you think I be? Newton was born

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<v Speaker 1>in Dorset, England. Dorset is in the West Country, the

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<v Speaker 1>southwest corner of Britain. The dialect in that region contains

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<v Speaker 1>many of the elements we associate with pirate speech. Each

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<v Speaker 1>For example, it's common to hear a hard are in

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<v Speaker 1>words spoken by people from the West Country. Newton's performances

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<v Speaker 1>became iconic. It didn't take long before his West Country

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<v Speaker 1>accent became the de facto pirates speech. You can hear's

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<v Speaker 1>influence in performances like Tim Curry's Long John Silver in

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<v Speaker 1>Muppet Treasure Island him. That's what you're thinking. You're dead wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>Jeffrey Rush's Captain Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean, I

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<v Speaker 1>care not for your Tavanians, give hope, limb that give

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<v Speaker 1>me left for chance of black Beard, and even the

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<v Speaker 1>Simpsons Captain McAllister portrayed by Hankers Area six spells, time

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<v Speaker 1>for closing and talk eating fairly warned Beaty says I. Scholars, however,

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<v Speaker 1>don't think his portrayal was particularly accurate. It's hard to

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<v Speaker 1>be certain. We don't have many historical accounts of actual

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<v Speaker 1>pirate speech. The Golden Age of piracy predates recording by

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<v Speaker 1>more than a century. Pirates also didn't have a habit

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<v Speaker 1>of writing much down Many were likely illiterate. Most of

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<v Speaker 1>those who did write were educated before turning to their

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<v Speaker 1>roguish lifestyle, so they're written accounts aren't much different from

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<v Speaker 1>those of other educated people at the time. It might

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<v Speaker 1>be more appropriate to call September ninete talk like Robert

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<v Speaker 1>Newton day. But while it may not be historically accurate

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<v Speaker 1>to yell, shiver me timbers or walk the plank, don't

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<v Speaker 1>let that stop you from having a good time. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Jonathan Strickland and produced by Tyler Klang.

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<v Speaker 1>You can find brain Stuff merchandise at t public dot

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other swashbuckling topics at our home planet,

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