This week started out with a very unusual Monday. ELC Los Angeles staff, teachers and students celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day. We practiced phrases such as ‘Ahoy, me hearties!’ and students collected pirate vocabulary sheets. We were also keen to look the part, and fake mustaches, eye patches and pirate tattoos (temporary, of course!) were enthusiastically worn by teachers and students. Some students had already heard of talk like a pirate day and other students were very bemused to see their teachers kitted out in pirate garb. We hope that it got students in the mood for Halloween, as ELC loves to celebrate the famous American holiday with costumes and games! If you’d like to get into the spirit of talk like a pirate day, see below for the vocabulary sheet that director of courses Jessica Roehrig put together…
Ahoy – Hello
Arr! / Argh / Arrgh! / Yarr! / Harr! – A general piratical term
Aye – Yes. “Aye, aye captain!”
Batten down the hatches! – Shut your mouth
Blimey! – Used to express frustration.
Bucko – A friend.
Dead men tell no tales – Phrase explaining why pirates leave no survivors.
Gangway! – Used to clear a passage through a crowded area.
He’s gone to Davy Jones’s locker – He is dead.
Lad – A boy or young man.
Lass – A girl or young woman.
Matey – Friend. A way to address another pirate you are familiar with.
Me – My
Me hearties – a term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors.
Scallywag – A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
Shiver me timbers! – An expression of surprise.
Sink me! – An expression of surprise.
Splice the Mainbrace! – To have a drink, or perhaps several.
Walk the plank – a piratical execution
Ye – You “Ye be walking the plank!”
Yo-ho-ho – Completely meaningless, but fun to say.
