Which Parts of 'Pirate Talk' Are Authentic and Which Come from Disney?

Most of us only think of “Ahoy There, Matey!” and “Me Hearties!” once a year on International Talk Like A Pirate Day, a day when landlubbers can joke about walking the plank and being scalawags with abandon. But for linguists, the allure of pirate language and what it reveals about language and social life on the high seas is a year-round fascination. 

Although the average person’s idea of how pirates spoke is generally limited to a random "arr" and "yar," true pirate talk likely began in earnest in the late 1700s and early 1800s, a period known as the golden age of piracy. 

Privateering and pirate ships were crewed by sailors from around the world.

Privateering and pirate ships were crewed by sailors from around the world, but the majority spoke a hybridized version of English known as Maritime Pidgin English. This variety was a contact English, or lingua franca, strongly influenced by European traders’ contact with West African languages and the multicultural diversity found on board slaving and trading ships.

In the 17th century, certain coastal ports became well known as "pirate nests," offering safe harbor to those who felt marauding and pillaging made for a better living than more legal nautical gigs. According to historian Mark Hanna, author of "Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire," one well-known pirate nest was in what is referred to as the "West Country" in Southwestern England, an area that includes counties such as Devon, Bristol, Dorset, and Cornwall.

This area had a long maritime history and also happened to be where many British sailors hailed from, including a fair number who turned to piracy. For instance, West County native Sir Francis Drake—a decorated sailor with a side hustle as a pirate and illegal slave trader—is a perfect example of how little difference there could often be. The famous dastardly pirate Blackbeard was also rumored to have been born in Bristol. As a result, some romanticizing about pirate life and language developed within this region based on its pirate proclivities. 

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