The Jambar

Issue date: 9/15/05 Section: ae

YSU Senior Tom Kusiowski and his wench celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day last year. The holiday is Monday.

Media Credit: KRT Campus Watching "Pirates of the Carribean" bae a hell of a way to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Ahoy me hearties, on Sept. 19, thar be a little known holiday encouragin' bad grammar and flamboyance, known as International Talk like a Pirate Day, so, lest ye bae a lilly-livered land lubber, ye should embrace yore inner sea dog and celebrate International Talk like a Pirate Day.

A brief history of the day, according the official website, tells how the holiday got its start. ITLAPD is the only holiday devoted especially to speaking in grandiose nautical terms. The idea for holiday was started back in June of 1995, by two buddies, John Bauer and Mark Summers, who were playing racquet ball, all-of-a-sudden joking around and talking like pirates. When it came time to choose a date for their newly conceived holiday, they chose Sept. 19. The reasoning behind this seemingly random date is that it would be easy for them to remember that wasn't taken already by another holiday or important event; it was Summers' ex-wife's birthday.

For nearly seven years the pair and few others celebrated the day. When columnist Dave Barry wrote about the day in 2001, a broader audience caught on. Now, there are people who celebrate the day all over the world.

While the holiday hasn't caught on in mainstream American culture, it has made its way to Youngstown State University.

Senior Tom Kusiowski, who dressed up like a pirate last year and talked like a pirate, said that he plans to celebrate the holiday again.

"The reaction I got from most people was some strange facial expressions," Kusiowski said.

This year he is spreading the word to other students at Cafaro House, where he is a resident, "I put up a bulletin board with information and ideas to help recruit more pirates," he said.

So how does one start talking like a pirate? Some helpful hints include droppin' the "g's" off verbs that end in "ing," adding "yarrr" and "arrr" to sentences, but for those who want a more in-depth lesson on how to speak like a pirate, here's a list from the International Talk like a Pirate Day U.K. Headquarter's Web site of common words and meanings:

Ahoy: Hey!
Avast: Stop!
Aye: Yes
Davy Jones' Locker: the bottom o' the sea, where the souls of dead men lie
Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin' this.
Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
Matey: A shipmate or a friend.
Swashbucklin': fightin' and carousin' on the high seas!
Sweet trade: the career of piracy
Thar: There
Wench: a lady, although ye gents not be wantin' to use this around a lady who be stronger than ye.
Yo-ho-ho: Pirate laughter

If talking like a pirate sounds fun, search the Internet for pirate quizzes, a name generator, more pirate lingo and other fun ideas for ITLAPD.

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