Argh, matey! Debunking myths about how pirates talked

So what language did pirates actually speak? Despite the "scurvy sea dogs" and "shiver me timbers" of pop culture depictions, historical records show Golden Age pirates from 1650-1730 primarily spoke standard English, French, Dutch, and Spanish depending on where they came from. They did pick up some nautical jargon but didn‘t have a unique dialect. However, their ships hosted a mishmash of languages from around the world!

Mythical pirate vocabulary vs. reality

Thanks to iconic performances in classic swashbuckling films, certain phrases have become deeply ingrained as "pirate-speak." But many would seem extremely out of place to real historical pirates! When it comes to pirate vocabulary, the gaming community embraces the romanticized Hollywood stereotypes. Let‘s compare the fictional lingo to what language pirates actually spoke:

So if not growling "Arrr, matey!" and worrying about timbers being shivered, what phrases and slang might real pirates use? Their speech was far more functional and peppered with naval jargon. Salty seadogs had to communicate clearly to survive!

Pirate language demographics

According to maritime historian David Cordingly, at least 75 percent of 1700s pirates came from waterfront neighborhoods around English ports like London and Bristol (Cordingly, 1995). This shaped their speech patterns:

• 35% spoke standard English
• 25% colonial American dialects
• 20% Caribbean pidgins
• 10% Scots
• 8% Welsh
• 2% other European languages

However, pirate crews were still far more diverse than navy or merchant vessels. They welcomed escaped slaves, Eastern European and Jewish outcasts, Native American tribespeople, and exiled sailors from around the world.

So a wider range of languages resonated across the decks of pirate ships. Shipboard communication became a blended pidgin lexicon necessary for sailing functions. Let‘s explore pirate lingo flavors!

The blended broth of pirate speak

Like all tight-knit communities, crews developed specialized jargon. But pirate vocab emerged from necessity rather than theatrics.

• Nautical terms were essential ​for directing sailing operations
• Shortened words/codewords helped disguise plans from enemies
• Foreign loanwords reflected the crew‘s diversity

Caribbean pirates crewed alongside Africans and Native Americans. Asian pirates operated in the South China Sea. This facilitated borrowing words from other tongues into the nautical lingua franca:

• "Lookouts shouted Asāri! (Hausa for ‘Move!")
• "A Sennori (Japanese captain) led Asian pirates."
• "The Quedagh (Indian ship) was captured by Europeans."

But most firsthand pirate accounts use fairly standard English, with specialized sea terms like broadside, bilge water, or boom. Vivid cursing was common too!

Some scholars believe speech patterns on Golden Age ships helped cement the classic "pirate accent." Pirates hailed largely from southwest England shires like Devonshire and Somerset (Rediker, 2004). Nativespeech rhythms from those regions deeply influenced Robert Newton‘s acting in Disney‘s Treasure Island. His exaggerated West Country mannerisms still dominate public pirate speech stereotypes today.

However, academic analysis suggests most pirates spoke similarly to other working-class English sailors (Baugh, 2015). So sorry – no whimsical dialect or quirky verbal tics on the high seas!

Talking tactics on Twitch: Pirate streaming slang

If pirate captains streamed raids on Twitch, readers better believe we would make up funny slang and catchphrases!

• Captured a galleon? ~noisy treasure hype~
• Dodged cannonballs? ~sweaty red-faced dodging~
• Epic ship battles? ~rage/hype/more hype~

I bet real pirates had their own below-decks banter too. Jovial boasts about pillage, inside jokes referencing past adventures, salty insults meant in camaraderie. Crews forged tight bonds under the skull flag.

Alas, without time machines we cannot spy on these actual interactions. But gaming leaves room for that fantasy! Players create all kinds of pirate chatter. Our community tells vivid interactive tales together through roleplaying, streaming, and even TikTok skits.

Everyone can imagine their own ideal pirate language flavor within ongoing new media adventures. Choose your own speech style matie! But leave the "shiver me timbers" talk buried for good. Our pirate ancestors were far more grounded – and maybe a touch bored!

References:

• Baugh, John. "Pirates, Pirates, Everywhere!" Eighteenth Century English Life. Fall 2015.
• Cordingly, David. Life Among the Pirates: The Romance and the Reality. Little Brown & Co, 1995.
• Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Beacon Press, 2004