Talk like a pirate day

Join yer mateys in some pirate jabberin’!

This September nineteenth, don’t forget your pirrrrate attitude! On International Talk Like A Pirate Day acting raucous and a bit raunchy is to be encouraged!

So, you may be asking the question, “how exactly did this day become ‘official,’ especially since pirates are historically anything but official kind of folk?”

This special day has its origins back in 1995 when two buddies from Oregon — Mark Summers (“Cap’n Slappy”) and John Baur (“Ol’ Chumbucket”) — partook in some friendly banter while playing a racquetball match.

The banter segued into pirate talk, and so entertained were they with pirate parlance, they set out to get their friends to join in the fun. Their success in bringing their idea to a wider audience was less than overwhelming.

However, they found the “booty” they were looking for with the help of Miami Herald humour columnist Dave Berry. Summers and Baur convinced Berry to broadcast the virtues of talking like a pirate to his syndicated audience.

When the column was published in 2002 the idea became a hit with readers, and the day has since become a yearly celebration, a good reason to party. Facebook launched its pirate language function in honour of the day back in 2008. On Twitter, #TalkLikeAPirateDay abounds with salutes to pirates and their pirate-y ways.

Check out Baur and Summer’s website International Talk Like A Pirate Day for yourself to find out how to talk like a pirate, take a pirate personality test, and even read answers to life’s questions in the pirate advice section for light, entertain’n fun.