International Talk Like A Pirate Day (19 September)

[Ross Clark]

"a joke"
"all good fun"
"an extra way of raising money for good causes" (really?)
all seems now to be something that passed by in a puff of
electrons....how many years ago?

At least Crystal does note that the definitive understanding of how
pirates talked comes from Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver
in the 1950 Disney-produced version of _Treasure Island_ (my first
Favourite Movie -- saw it three times).

So: RLS for the syntax and lexis, Newton for the "arrr!".

Newton himself (1905-1956): Born in Shaftesbury, Dorset; spent some
formative years (7-13) in Cornwall, then schooled in Exeter, Devon.
So he did have some genuine West Country speech to draw on (plausibly)
when portraying Silver.

He was in a lot of films, including the 1940 _Gaslight_ (!). Carried on
as Silver in an eponymous 1954 film and a one-season TV series.

"Known for his hard-living life, he was cited as a role model by the
actor Oliver Reed and the Who's drummer Keith Moon."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Newton

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Post by Ross Clark
"a joke"
"all good fun"
"an extra way of raising money for good causes" (really?)
all seems now to be something that passed by in a puff of
electrons....how many years ago?
At least Crystal does note that the definitive understanding of how
pirates talked comes from Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver
in the 1950 Disney-produced version of _Treasure Island_ (my first
Favourite Movie -- saw it three times).
So: RLS for the syntax and lexis, Newton for the "arrr!".
Newton himself (1905-1956): Born in Shaftesbury, Dorset; spent some
formative years (7-13) in Cornwall, then schooled in Exeter, Devon.
So he did have some genuine West Country speech to draw on (plausibly)
when portraying Silver.

Alas. I myself was born, grew up and educated (up to the age of 13) in
Devon, but I'm completely incapable of speaking like someone from Devon.

Incidentally, we don't call it the West Country, but Devon and
Cornwall, or the West of England if we want to include Somerset and
Dorset. It seems to be mainly people from Gloucestershire who think
they live in the West Country.

Post by Ross Clark
He was in a lot of films, including the 1940 _Gaslight_ (!). Carried on
as Silver in an eponymous 1954 film and a one-season TV series.
"Known for his hard-living life, he was cited as a role model by the
actor Oliver Reed and the Who's drummer Keith Moon."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Newton