International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. They even have their own website ... TalkLikeAPirate.com! Strangely, this is one of those silly holidays I have known about for years!

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, is one of my favorite places on earth. (My second novel was set there ... A Summer in Ocraocoke). Blackbeard, one of the most notorious and well-known of all pirates, was killed off the coast of Ocracoke, at Springer's Point, on November 22, 1718. Thus, Ocracoke is steeped in pirate lore.

For those of you who don't know how to talk like a pirate, I've listed are a few phrases (with definitions) below that you can throw around to sound authentic. Drop a few of these words into your sentences, and you will have people wondering if you have been a pirate your whole life.

• Ahoy! - "Yo!"
• Avast! - "Check it out!"
• Aye! - "Yes."
• Arrr! - "That's right!" (often confused with arrrgh...)
• Arrrgh! - "I'm VERY miffed."

Need more instruction to work that into your everyday vocabulary? I'm one step ahead of ya! Below is what I like to call Pirate 101:

• Start  by dropping your "g's" - as in sailin' or drinkin'.
• Avoid any pronunciation of "r's" so that "ever" becomes "e'er", and "never" becomes "ne'er". 
• Substitute "ye" for "you" and "me" for "my". For example: "I want me grog ye scurvy dog!"
• If all else fails, begin every other sentence with a scowl and a hearty "aarrgh."

And now I have to get to work ... Arrrgh!