WEBVTT - Did Pirates Really Talk Like That?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb here. In two thousand two, syndicated columnist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>to spread the good word about Talk like a Pirate Day,

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

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<v Speaker 1>don't be afraid to swash them. And with those wise words,

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<v Speaker 1>a tradition was born. Chances are you've seen evidence of

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<v Speaker 1>talk like a Pirate Day. Social media hosts a plethora

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<v Speaker 1>of pirate puns. National chains like Long John Silver's and

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<v Speaker 1>less thematically Crispy Cream offer free items to folks and costume.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the one day a year that the word are

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<v Speaker 1>is considered an acceptable alternative to yeah, But did pirates

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<v Speaker 1>really talk? Like that the answer is not really. Our

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<v Speaker 1>concept of piratical speech stems mainly from a series of

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<v Speaker 1>memorable performances by the actor Robert Newton. He appeared in

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<v Speaker 1>several films and TV shows as a pirate, playing such

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<v Speaker 1>characters as Long John Silver in the nineteen fifty Disney

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<v Speaker 1>adaptation of Treasure Island. Now we did a shame to

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<v Speaker 1>see you in such ill condition perch, give a dropper

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<v Speaker 1>around to worm as Billy as he passes over, and

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>a fool you think I be? Newton was born in Dorset, England.

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<v Speaker 1>Dorset is in the West Country, the southwest corner of Britain.

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<v Speaker 1>The dialect in that region contains many of the elements

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<v Speaker 1>we associate with pirate speech. Each For example, it's common

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<v Speaker 1>to hear a hard are in words spoken by people

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<v Speaker 1>from the West Country. Newton's performances became iconic. It didn't

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<v Speaker 1>take long before his West Country accent became the de

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<v Speaker 1>facto pirate speech. You can hear's influence in performances like

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<v Speaker 1>Tim Curry's Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure island him.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what you're thinking. You're dead wrong. Jeffrey Rush's Captain

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<v Speaker 1>Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean, I cannot for your Tavanians,

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<v Speaker 1>give hope, limb that give me left for jet black

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<v Speaker 1>Beard and even the Simpsons Captain McAllister, portrayed by Hankers

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<v Speaker 1>Area six spells time for closing a doc eating fairly

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<v Speaker 1>warned Beaty says I. Scholars, however, don't think his portrayal

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<v Speaker 1>was particularly accurate. It's hard to be certain. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>have many historical accounts of actual pirate speech. The Golden

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<v Speaker 1>Age of piracy predates recording by more than a century.

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<v Speaker 1>Pirates also didn't have a habit of writing much down.

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<v Speaker 1>Many were likely illiterate. Most of those who did write

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<v Speaker 1>were educated before turning to their roguish lifestyle, so they're

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<v Speaker 1>written accounts aren't much different from those of other educated

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<v Speaker 1>people at the time. It might be more appropriate to

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<v Speaker 1>call September nine talk like Robert Newton day. But while

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<v Speaker 1>it may not be historically accurate to yell, shiver me

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<v Speaker 1>timbers or walk the plank, don't let that stop you

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<v Speaker 1>from having a good time. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Jonathan Strickland and produced by Tyler Clang. You can find

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff merchandise at t public dot com slash brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can find more on this and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other swashbuckling topics at our home planet, how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com