The Pirate Primer
The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers and Rogues
by George Choundas
ISBN: 978-1-58297-489-7
$19.99, 484p
Available April 2007
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http://pirate.fwpublications.com
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Arrgh, ye worthless scab, the blood in your veins is skim milk! While you’re waiting for The Pirate Primer to reach your local bookseller, practice your insults. Click here to view or download Chapter 8: Insults.
Ebbry-Blastin’-Theng Ye Needs Must Kno-ow to Lay Tongue like a Aarrgh-thentic Pirate
- Only comprehensive book on pirate language—there are other pirate dictionaries, but none covers grammar and syntax
- Perfect for pirate enthusiasts, eccentrics, fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, anyone interested in pop culture, and pirates
- September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (a holiday recently promoted by comeditan Dave Barry)—fans of the holiday are sure to love this book
In the history of the world, there has never been a comprehensive book on the pirate language. The Pirate Primer is the first and only. The book explores in a definitive way the unique vernacular of English-speaking pirates covering vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and syntax.
This is the authoritative work on the subject, containing and explicating every distinctive term, phrase, usage, and speech structure uttered by or attributed to pirates in film, television, literature, and historical accounts over the last three centuries. Every entry in the Primer is accompanied by an illustrative historical example of pirate speech or dialogue. Thus, the user sees the contents of the Primer deployed in actual context by actual pirates. This use of excerpts mobilizes the same instructional benefits of the immersion method considered so effective in foreign-language training. However, it also serves to remind the user that the pirate language is, and always and most importantly, a way to tell stories about pirates and ourselves.
About the Author
George Choundas lives and works in New York City. Educated at Emory University, he is a corporate litigator and former FBI agent. The Pirate Primer was inspired by a trolley ride Choundas and his wife took in Key West during which a coarse shop owner-cum-pirate charged after the sightseers on foot, swinging a cutlass and screaming pirate epithets.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
PART I: WHAT TO SAY
CHAPTER 1 GREETINGS & PARTINGS
CHAPTER 2 CALLS
CHAPTER 3 FLOURISHES
CHAPTER 4 COMMANDS
4.1 Command Elements
4.1.1 You-Commands
4.1.2 Me-Commands
4.1.3 Friendly Commands
4.1.4 Epithet Commands
4.1.5 Negative Commands
4.1.6 Command Openers
4.1.7 Command Closers
4.1.8 Command Responses
4.2 General Commands
4.3 Special Commands
4.3.1 Battle Commands
4.3.2 Boarding Commands
4.3.3 Boat Commands
4.3.4 Ship Commands
4.3 General Commands
CHAPTER 5 THREATS
CHAPTER 6 OATHS
CHAPTER 7 CURSES
CHAPTER 8 INSULTS
CHAPTER 9 EPITHETS
9.1 Modifiers
9.2 Nouns
CHAPTER 10 RESPECTFUL ADDRESS
10.1 Modifiers
10.2 Nouns
CHAPTER 11 RETORTS
CHAPTER 12 QUESTIONS & REPLIES
12.1 Common Questions
12.2 Replies
12.2.1 Affirmative Replies
12.2.2 Negative Replies
12.2.3 Noncompliant Replies
CHAPTER 13 TOASTS AND DECLAMATIONS
13.1 Toasts
13.2 Declamations
CHAPTER 14 CONTRACTIONS
CHAPTER 15 ARRGH
15.1 Overview
15.2 Definitions
15.3 Other Noise Terms
CHAPTER 16 CULTURAL TERMS
16.1 Piracy
16.1.1 Terms for “Pirate”
16.1.2 Terms for “Pirates”
16.1.3 Terms for “Band of Pirates”
16.1.4 Terms for “Piracy”
16.1.5 Terms for “Engage in Piracy”
16.1.6 Terms for “Pirate Ship”
16.2 The Pirate Crew
16.3 Arms
16.4 Torture and Punishment
16.5 Food
16.6 Drink
16.7 Currency
16.8 Time
16.9 Distance
16.10 Other Units of Measurement
16.11 Women
PART II: HOW TO SAY IT
CHAPTER 17 PRONUNCIATION
17.1 Syllables
17.1.1 Starting Syllables
17.1.2 Middle Syllables
17.2 Consonants
17.2.1 Extreme Consonants
17.2.2 Starting Consonants
17.2.3 Middle Consonants
17.2.4 Ending Consonants
17.3 Vowels
17.3.1 Extreme Vowels
17.3.2 Starting Vowels
17.3.3 Middle Vowels
17.3.4 Ending Vowels
17.3.5 Dipthongs
CHAPTER 18 WRONG TALK
18.1 Basic Wrong Talk
18.2 Redundancy
18.2.1 Incidental Redundancy
18.2.2 Stylistic Redundancy
18.3 Double Negative
18.4 Malapropism
18.5 Inconsistency
CHAPTER 19 CONVERSIONS
19.1 The Start
19.1.1 Chopped Start
19.1.2 Double-Subject Start
19.1.3 But Start
19.1.4 If-It-Not Start
19.1.5 It’s Start
19.1.6 Contraction Start
19.2 The Echo
19.2.1 Full Echo
19.2.2 Half Echo
19.2.3 Subject Echo
19.2.4 Double Echo
19.2.5 Chopped Echo
19.2.6 Deluxe Echo
19.2.7 Oath Echo
19.2.8 Reverse Echo
19.2.9 Pronoun Echo
19.2.10 Negative Echo
19.2.11 Question Echo
19.3 The Sternfirst
CHAPTER 20 STRUCTURAL FORMS
20.1 Split Phrase
20.2 Split Adjective
20.3 Word Order
20.4 Tmesis
20.5 Closing Repetition
CHAPTER 21 FUNCTIONAL FORMS
21.1 Assertion
21.1.1 Here
21.1.2 There
21.1.3 It
21.2 Negation
21.2.1 Predicate Negation
21.2.2 There-Be-No Negation
21.3 Inquiry
21.4 Reference
21.4.1 This for That
21.4.2 Here for There
21.5 Characterization
21.6 Narration
21.6.1 Says You/Says I
21.6.2 Tense Shift
21.6.3 Third-Personization
CHAPTER 22 PARTS OF SPEECH
22.1 Nouns
22.1.1 Switched Noun
22.1.2 Possessive Noun
22.1.3 Non-count Noun
22.1.4 Understood Noun
22.1.5 Names
22.2 Pronouns
22.2.1 Switched Pronoun
22.2.2 Relative Pronoun
22.2.3 Verb Object Pronoun
22.2.4 Sidekick Pronoun
22.2.5 Understood You
22.3 Verbs
22.3.1 Switched Verb
22.3.2 Plain Wrong Verb
22.3.3 Reflexive Verb
22.3.4 Be
22.3.5 Do
22.3.6 Present Tense
22.3.7 Past Tense
22.3.8 Present Perfect Tense
22.3.9 Past Perfect Tense
22.3.10 Future Tense
22.3.11 Subjunctive Mood
22.3.12 Conditional Mood
22.3.13 Present Participle/Gerund
22.3.14 Past Participle
22.4 Adjectives
22.4.1 Formation
22.4.2 Possessive
22.5 Adverbs
22.5.1 Formation
22.5.2 Position
22.6 Prepositions
22.6.1 Added Preposition
22.6.2 Dropped Preposition
22.6.3 Switched Preposition
22.6.4 Dangling Preposition
22.7 Articles
22.7.1 Dropped Article
22.7.2 Switched Article
22.7.3 Ye Article
APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A OPENERS, MIDDLERS & CLOSERS
APPENDIX B SOUND LIST
APPENDIX C PIRATE COMPANY ARTICLES