Aaarrr me hearties, it’s pirate time

(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)

Ahoy me hearties, it’s that time again.

Today is  International Talk Like A Pirate Day so break out your best pirate paraphernalia and embrace the day.

The event came about way back in 1995 after Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy) and John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) were playing racquetball and one of them reacted to the pain with a pirately “Aaarrr” .

It started as nothing more than an inside joke between the two but United States humour columnist Dave Barry heard about it in 2002 and started to promote it.

Since then it has become a huge international event, marked by pirate fanciers around the world.

And the occasional internet columnist.

So I’m guessing the question on everyone’s lips about now is how does one go about speaking like a pirate? Never fear, the internet is a rich source of information on the topic.

WikiHow has a useful little list of pointers along with video and a vocabulary guide, and Pirate Speak also has everything you need to sound convincing.

So shiver me timbers me hearty, you’ll be talkin’ like a pirate in no time. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum (although, I do prefer Drambuie).

A couple of points if you’re planning on taking part:

  1. If you don’t have a parrot to pop on your shoulder, a chicken would be a suitable substitute. However, it’s best if it isn’t frozen.
  2. One eye patch per eye, and for safety’s sake, it’s advisable to cover just the one eye.

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