I know International Talk Like a Pirate Day has come and gone, but I wanted to share something from another forum I frequent:
How to speak like a pirate...
-tion
The "-tion" found at the end of words like "locomotion" and "promotion" is pronounced "-seeon". So, don't say "locomoshun", but "locomoseeon"; not "promoshun", but "promoseeon".
Missing Letters
There are a few letters you should never pronounce. The first of them is "g". Drop all your "g"'s when you speak and you'll get words like "rowin'","sailin'" and "fightin'". Dropping all of your "v"'s will get you words like "ne'er","e'er" and "o'er".
Big, Bigger, Big Biggest!
Pirates are dramatic, and their speech is doubly so. Pirates never speak of "a big ship", they call it a "great, grand ship!" They never say never, they say "No nay ne'er!" Double up on all your adjectives and you'll be bountifully bombastic with your phrasing.
De-Conjugation
The conjugation is a rather modern invention, one that sailors always seem to be forgetting. Take the verb "to be" for example. Instead of saying "I am", sailors say, "I be". Instead of saying "You are", sailors say, "You be". Instead of saying, "They are", sailors say, "They be". Makes things a lot simpler, doesn't it?
Using Nautical Terms
Another technique for sounding more "piratey" is to use nautical terms. Here are some examples.
"Indeed were I taken aback!": I was surprised.
"And just as I were forgin' ahead through the crowd…": As I was making my way through the crowd…
Superstition
Pirates are a notoriously superstitious lot. Not only do they inhabit a world of vengeful spirits and ghost ships, but they also believe that using certain words when aboard a ship will give offence to King Neptune. Things whih are not to be mentioned include women, cats and the terms left and right, hence the elaborate taboo language which grew up around these things.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrr
