Reconsideration
14 hours ago
Wow, that was really lame title.
Anyway,
On Facebook you can adjust the language preferences to a variety of languages, including Norsk, Afrikaans, and Bosanski. There are three forms of English: US, UK, and now Pirate! And they actually committed to the Pirate motif.
"Language" becomes "Tongue"
"Share" becomes "Divvy spoils t'all ye mateys"
"See wall-to-wall" becomes "Spy plank-to-plank"
"See all" becomes "Peer into the depths"
"event invitations" becomes "grog fests sighted from the Crow's Nest"
This will keep me amused for a couple of weeks or until it just becomes annoying.
Labels: Facebook, social networking
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Assistant Village Idiot said...
Pirate verb-structures are actually pretty close to many of the English dialects of the 18th C. London English was the standard, then and now, but there was a great deal more variety then. The common Kentish to Wessex "we be" is still preserved in African-American dialect. Which is unsurprising, because that dialect developed from their association with the less-educated whites from other parts of England (and Wales and Ireland).
June 10, 2009 8:22 PM
Sam said...
huh. A friend of mine told me that the man to first portray a pirate on film (I've forgotten his name) talked in everyday life like, so thats how we now think pirates sound like. Your response sounds much more researched, though.
When you say that "we be" is still preserved in African-American dialect, in what areas of the country?
June 11, 2009 6:44 AM
Assistant Village Idiot said...
Here's a start.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Country_dialects
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English
June 14, 2009 5:36 PM