Where Does the Pirate Accent Come From?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
  • The seafaring criminals known as pirates have existed for thousands of years. But because of the portrayals found in literature - or seen in films, TV shows, or on stage - much of what the general public thinks about pirates is likely historically inaccurate.
    Take for instance the pirate accent. Many believe the origin of the stereotypical pirate language is Robert Newton's portrayal of the fictional pirate Long John Silver in the 1950 film Treasure Island. Since both Robert Louis Stevenson's character and Newton himself were from the West Country region of England, the actor decided it would make sense to use an exaggerated version of his natural accent in his portrayal. And in the 70-plus years since then, a variation of Newton's accent has been used in many portrayals of pirates.
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    #pirates #piratesofthecaribbean #weirdhistory
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ความคิดเห็น • 692

  • @skyden24195
    @skyden24195 ปีที่แล้ว +114

    So, basically, Robert Newton is to pirate talk what Bela Lugosi is to the look of Dracula.

    • @Eis_Bear
      @Eis_Bear ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Bela set the look AND the voice.

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Eis_Bear indeed.

    • @donaldpetersen2382
      @donaldpetersen2382 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Can't arrrgue with that

    • @annmarieblanc6363
      @annmarieblanc6363 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      My two favorite Bela Lugosi quotes are, "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.", from Dracula. The second one is "Are we not men?",from Island of Lost Souls! Devo got the name of their album from that line in the movie! Just for the record I'm Andy not Annmarie and I'm responsible for the content of this post not her!

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@annmarieblanc6363 have you ever listened to the Abbott and Costello radio show when Bela Lugosi was the guest star? It's on TH-cam, entitled (something like) "The New Sheriff with (or featuring) Bela Lugosi." I like listening to it because, since it's a radio show, everyone naturally has to put more emphasis into what they say, plus they have Bela saying some pretty far out things. lol.
      He also cracks me up in the comedy-horror "One Body Too Many." In the movie, Bela plays a butler who is intent on serving guests coffee that may or may not be poisoned.

  • @tremorsfan
    @tremorsfan ปีที่แล้ว +45

    The fact that Mr Burns says Ahoy when he answers the phone is a joke about him being so old that he uses Alexander Graham -Bell's preferred phrase.

    • @forcetheedges
      @forcetheedges ปีที่แล้ว +5

      "Ahoy-hoy"

    • @pickeljarsforhillary102
      @pickeljarsforhillary102 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      He also needed to send a letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail.

    • @elwolf8536
      @elwolf8536 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@pickeljarsforhillary102 ahha was looking for that😅😅

    • @Flaptasticfluffybut
      @Flaptasticfluffybut ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Is it too late for the 4:30 auto-gyro?

    • @vilstef6988
      @vilstef6988 ปีที่แล้ว

      MP Jacob Rees-Mogg increased his reputation for eccentricity by calling out Ahoy to the Speaker rather than being recognized by that worthy. Rees-Mogg is such a stuck up stickybeak, one expects him to have a copy of Burke's Peerage always at hand to emphasize how much better he is than us common scum, though to the best of my knowledge, he's still a commoner.

  • @billyyank2198
    @billyyank2198 ปีที่แล้ว +171

    Creating an entire pop culture genre by accident is a testament to the superb acting talent of Robert Newton.

    • @madamrockford2508
      @madamrockford2508 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      He was brillant!

    • @Pocketfarmer1
      @Pocketfarmer1 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Not to detract from Newton, but it speaks more to the corrosive effect of Disney on all things cultural.

  • @reddersfield
    @reddersfield ปีที่แล้ว +74

    As a Bristolian myself, I can confirm this is 100% accurate.

    • @y_fam_goeglyd
      @y_fam_goeglyd ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Except for "Bristow", a "county" in the West Country lol! My Somerset & N Devon ancestors will be spinning in their graves. My Welsh ones are just laughing ;p
      In family history, Henry Morgan is one of my ancestors. We don't talk about him as a rule...

    • @reddersfield
      @reddersfield ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @Mandy B I was referring more to the accent with things like "Ark at ee!" But yes, can't expect too much for an American series 😂

    • @emilyharding1313
      @emilyharding1313 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I live in Taunton and spent the whole video thinking “yep.. sounds accurate..” haha!

    • @michiganscythian2445
      @michiganscythian2445 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I’m from Michigan in the USA and in our dialect, we tend to overpronounce our “R”s as well. Interesting since we have the Great Lakes so wondering if there’s some benefit to an obvious R sound in sailing, like if the sound carried better than others

    • @NinnersNanners
      @NinnersNanners ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@reddersfield as a fellow Bristolian (I hail from Henbury), I thought the exact same!

  • @peanutbutterjellyfish2665
    @peanutbutterjellyfish2665 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Why do you have a steering wheel on your belt? Arrrrr. Drives me nuts!

  • @hansfunkengruven9737
    @hansfunkengruven9737 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    Not all pirates lost an eye! The eye patch was for when they stormed a ship, they would often have to follow their victims into the dark hold of the ship. When this happened, they just switched the patch to the other eye, and their eye was already adjusted to the dark!

    • @hokep61
      @hokep61 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Gun deck was below the main deck. Not a good idea to have lamps or candles around black powder. The patch was for the gun crew to save their "night or dim light" vision when hurriedly manning the cannon below deck.

    • @FortisKnight
      @FortisKnight 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      As explained, tested, and proven on Mythbusters

  • @caffeineadvocate
    @caffeineadvocate ปีที่แล้ว +249

    What’s a pirate’s favorite letter? You may say, ‘R’.. but a real pirate’s true love is the ‘C’…

    • @24kRobot
      @24kRobot ปีที่แล้ว +3

      How dare you!😅😅

    • @madamrockford2508
      @madamrockford2508 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      And by that you mean?

    • @bobbyjones1985
      @bobbyjones1985 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@madamrockford2508 “C” as in “Sea”

    • @madamrockford2508
      @madamrockford2508 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@bobbyjones1985 Oh🤪 In reality, the majority of the pirates became such for survival, plain & simple. Most were seaman, but after which ever war, e.g. Qunen Anne's War, after the war is over, most of the sailors are no longer required, & therefore discharged. Home was in tatters, & few jobs were available.The average sailor's lifespan aboard a naval or merchant vessell was 2 years, meaning many died of scurvy, rickets, dehydration or illness. Mamy also died at from the savage punishments dealt out by officers. Mutiny On The Bounty was not an isolated event, but rather the norm in days of yore. It's interesting to note that during the colonization era, no less than 50% of those sent to these islands, et al. e.g. Africa, etc. died from the illness they have no immunity to. Even in many TV shows in the 20th century you hear that people going abroad had to get a series of shots first, even if only going to Europe.
      I hope I didn't bore you. 😊 You have a great weekend & stay safe!
      I think I'll post this on the main comments section.

    • @bobbyjones1985
      @bobbyjones1985 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@madamrockford2508 You didn’t bore me, thank you for being so kind, you have a great day & weekend as well, I truly hope you are blessed 😇

  • @rgerber
    @rgerber ปีที่แล้ว +57

    I'm under the impression the narrator didn't unleash his full pirate power

    • @eedobee
      @eedobee ปีที่แล้ว +4

      He’s got other voice acting gigs and can’t damage the tools of the trade/larynx

    • @michaeldoyle35
      @michaeldoyle35 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Full Pirate could scare the Children

    • @joeydarigold
      @joeydarigold ปีที่แล้ว

      @@eedobee It sounds like AI to me.

    • @dsxa918
      @dsxa918 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Not speaking in that accent?? No way,
      It's a conscious choice

    • @damageinc.3695
      @damageinc.3695 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Never go full pirate

  • @bazzatheblue
    @bazzatheblue ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Where I’m from in England people say “that it be’ instead of ‘that’s true’ or ‘that is so’ in the style of Robert Newton and also say ‘matey’.

  • @gouda762
    @gouda762 ปีที่แล้ว +74

    This is a great channel and I love this narrator

    • @elizabethhughes5371
      @elizabethhughes5371 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      His voice is a big part of loving this channel for me !!! Plus the stories are awesome too ❣️

    • @AM-be5sw
      @AM-be5sw 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Word

  • @navret1707
    @navret1707 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    Molly Babel. What a perfect name for a linguistics type. I wonder if she was the first to find the Babel Fish? If so, Ford Prefect is indebted to her.
    “Aren’t all good stories about pirates?” The History Guy

    • @lesbw356
      @lesbw356 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I was thinking the same thing!!

    • @promontorium
      @promontorium ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Well the word babel comes from the story in the bible about the Tower of Babel where God strikes down the tower and punishes all the people by making them all speak different languages. So for thousands of years the word babel has been associated with multi-linguistics either in understanding or not understanding what someone is saying.

    • @BillGreenAZ
      @BillGreenAZ ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Arrrr. Me thinks it's not her original moniker.
      I wonder if she's cunning though.

    • @OzSteve9801
      @OzSteve9801 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Nominative determinism - where a persons's name MAY influence their career choice.

    • @mybachhertzbaud3074
      @mybachhertzbaud3074 ปีที่แล้ว

      There just may be something to that, with a name Williams, I have never seen more bills, bills ,bills!
      😜

  • @mikenixon2401
    @mikenixon2401 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Very interesting. I always enjoy your "origins of" presentations.

  • @keithlightminder3005
    @keithlightminder3005 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Not exaggerated- if you go to some places in Cornwall (not England!) it is far heavier and nearly incomprehensible. Hard R’s etc lead to this lovely way of speaking. My granny taught me to say the alphabet to get me ready for kindergarten, and I proudly spelled “Egypt” Aye Jay Whey Pay Tay” sure I had pegged it proper.

    • @AlphaBravoCheeseCake
      @AlphaBravoCheeseCake ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Mate Cornwall is a principality of London and Liverpool now. You'd be hard pushed to find anyone who is really cornish these days.

    • @mooncove
      @mooncove 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@AlphaBravoCheeseCake True, maybe I didn't go to the right places, but during my six days in Cornwall in June 1993 (tourist season!), I was disappointed not to have heard _any_ Cornish accents!

  • @monicahyland8641
    @monicahyland8641 ปีที่แล้ว +37

    Do a story about how long New York City took to become a city and what did it look like before becoming a city, who and what was there… before,building and becoming the city.

    • @kevmoful
      @kevmoful ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Story of how New York has fallen victim to liberal ideology and the decay of culture would be interesting.
      The origins of New York and hard work to achieve the American dream is no longer how New York is viewed. Went there for work a few months ago and it’s disgusting.

    • @michaelrochester48
      @michaelrochester48 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      New York City was originally a Dutch colony, it was primarily with Dutch people for the longest time that’s why so many of the areas have Ditch names like Brooklyn and. Bronx and Harlem

    • @CarissaAnn0117
      @CarissaAnn0117 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@kevmoful🎯

    • @slimischillin7753
      @slimischillin7753 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@michaelrochester48 “originally”, guess it depends on who you ask

    • @peanutbutterjellyfish2665
      @peanutbutterjellyfish2665 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@kevmoful 🐑🦜🤡

  • @btrowbridge8958
    @btrowbridge8958 ปีที่แล้ว +81

    I recently found out that "YE" was never pronounced "YE" but truely pronounced "THE". The Y was a letter dropped from the modern alphabet and was originally the "TH". The 'Y" with the 'TH" Sound had a little horizontal line added one of the upper top of the letter. Old English town cryer pronounce it "HERE THEE ,HEAR THEE" not 'Here Ye Here Ye'.

    • @srice6231
      @srice6231 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I saw this too on RobWords...one of my favorite channels!

    • @axspike
      @axspike ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Nope... Its hear ye, ye is an ancient form of you so hear ye is correct.

    • @bradyelich2745
      @bradyelich2745 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Old news, if you watch QI.

    • @uzi1951
      @uzi1951 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Not according to Google, “HEAR YE HEAR YE THIS COURT IS NOW IN SESSION,”

    • @btrowbridge8958
      @btrowbridge8958 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@axspike Here All of you. You Is one person .Thee, is You All or many people. Look up the letter Thorn.

  • @rynetaylor6706
    @rynetaylor6706 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Really curious to know how you come up with your topics for your videos. You have the most random, yet really intriguing subjects.

  • @janedoe5229
    @janedoe5229 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thank you for posting all of these beautiful oil paintings as well.

  • @emilyharding1313
    @emilyharding1313 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    As someone who’s lived between Cornwall and Somerset their whole life, specifically most recently in Taunton (40 minutes from Bristol), I just want to say “Hark at Weird History! Bristo? Where be that to then? Geddon!” .. 😂

    • @Beedo_Sookcool
      @Beedo_Sookcool ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That be because it WERE originally "Bristow," but the natives kept tacking Ls onto the ends of words endin' in vowels. So we reckoned "Bugger it. 'Tis Bristol, now."

    • @NinnersNanners
      @NinnersNanners ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Beedo_Sookcool actually, it’s pronounced as Bristal or Brizzle, mind you 😂
      As a fellow Bristolian, Iz agrees wiv yous!

    • @Beedo_Sookcool
      @Beedo_Sookcool ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@NinnersNanners Don' 'old it agains' me. Oi'm vrum Torquay. 😉

  • @theawesomeman9821
    @theawesomeman9821 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like how this channel is answering all of the important questions! LOL!

  • @CymruCreator
    @CymruCreator ปีที่แล้ว +4

    A few of my ancestors lived in Penzance in Cornwall and there is a tentative link to Francis Drake, but not that one, it was his nephew.

    • @mooncove
      @mooncove 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Oo, if I followed the right "fork" in the trunk of my family tree (potentially two different people with the same name and age who fought in the U.S. Civil War but seem to have lived in different parts of New York), Sir Francis Drake was my 12th great-grand-uncle whose younger sister is one of my ancestors and had a link to a family in Redruth, but that's as far back as I could get. If you have more info you'd be willing to share, please contact me!

    • @CymruCreator
      @CymruCreator 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@mooncove sorry, it's all very loosey-goosey when you go that far back isn't it ^^
      also that would put us in different branches anyhow, my ancestor is (supposedly) another Francis Drake who was the nephew of the one most people think of.

  • @scottnotpilgrim
    @scottnotpilgrim ปีที่แล้ว +111

    Surprised that Assassin's Creed: Black Flag didn't rely on the famous accent, pirates had their own language, rules, etc

    • @Adam-M-
      @Adam-M- ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Assassins Creed has a team of consulting historians that work during development to keep the games accurate within reason. I say within reason because games have to make certain changes to be enjoyable. But generally they do a very good job, which is why the newer games contain educational tour modes without combat.

    • @scottnotpilgrim
      @scottnotpilgrim ปีที่แล้ว +14

      I stopped after Odyssey, series burn out was real. But I appreciated those modes, felt like a virtual museum. That said, I still have respect for the series, with Black Flag being my favorite

    • @BA-rh5hy
      @BA-rh5hy ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Re-installing Black Flag now

    • @sarraf2009
      @sarraf2009 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@scottnotpilgrim I’d recommend giving Valhalla a chance. Origin was good, Valhalla is acceptable….Odessey was a disaster

    • @davidt3563
      @davidt3563 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Speaking of which, time to play it again!!

  • @mrdavidjk
    @mrdavidjk ปีที่แล้ว +34

    The places you called towns are actually counties. Which is the same as a state in the USA

    • @radicalpaddyo
      @radicalpaddyo ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Whilst it would be cool to have a governor of Devon/Cornwall, I don't think we have quite the same status as a state.

    • @mrdavidjk
      @mrdavidjk ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@radicalpaddyo my bad, my knowledge of American is very limited .
      Out of curiosity what would the equivalent be in the USA of a group of towns/cities.

    • @margaretreefer1145
      @margaretreefer1145 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Ha ha ha no. The States and Canada have counties too.

    • @promontorium
      @promontorium ปีที่แล้ว +3

      ​@@mrdavidjk Also called counties.
      America's state system was unique when it was created but others have adopted it subsequently (for example Mexico is also a United States) So there's no British equivalent. The states are a federal system, the entire nation-state being a federation of states.
      Legally the states in America are closer to the separate countries of the UK, like Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
      Although I am not nearly as informed on those political divides. In some ways it seems American states are more independent than Wales or Scotland.
      The division of power is different between state and federal government than traditional power structures.
      A county for example in both UK and America represents an administrative region, where all the counties generally report to a single unifying authority. States on the other hand don't report to anyone. Imagine the layers of power in traditional systems like vertical slices where regions are broken up but power goes down vertically through them.
      In the federal system power is more like slices horizontally. Where each layer stacks on the next.
      States have to abide by federal laws, but then are free to make any local laws. States can arrange their governments however they want. A state could legally, for example, have a single dictator with absolute state power. As long as a state abides by federal requirements.
      This has changed dramatically over the years with increasing centralized power by the federal government, but the methods of power centralization have been subversive and extra-Constitutional. Two major examples: 1. The federal government took to enforcing national compliance with rules like driving age at 16 by refusing to provide federal funding to road projects to a state. Basically taking money from a state through taxes, then refusing to use it unless the state complies with laws the feds can't legally mandate.
      Another major power play the feds make daily now is citing a single line in the Constitution that says the federal government can regulate interstate commerce. Known as the "Commerce Clause" this one line has been used to justify a century of federal power plays including law enforcement, federal bans on goods, federal regulations on trade, etc.
      Anyway the federal system is how you end up with a state like Nevada bordering a state like Utah. In Nevada gambling and prostitution are legal, in Utah you can't buy alcohol or run businesses on Sundays. They are culturally, historically, and legally as different as two different countries but reside peacefully side by side with wide open borders.

    • @mrdavidjk
      @mrdavidjk ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@margaretreefer1145 thank you.

  • @alankeith7866
    @alankeith7866 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Totally loved the Holy Grail reference!!!

    • @deboralee1623
      @deboralee1623 ปีที่แล้ว

      haven't gotten to it yet, but when the narrator mentioned the Royal Navy, i immediately thought of the Python R.N. skit, featuring animation by Gilliam (Royal Na-Vee)

  • @ossie1129
    @ossie1129 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Imagine Lionel Richie singing 'Ahoy, is it me you're looking for'

  • @papazataklaattiranimam
    @papazataklaattiranimam ปีที่แล้ว +22

    Later, his brother Hayreddin recognized the Ottoman sultan as his suzerain. Suleyman, at once detecting a depth of political wisdom and military genius in Hayreddin, gave him the title of Grand Admiral (Kaptan-i-Derya meaning Captain of the Oceans) and had an entirely new fleet constructed for him.

    • @Abraxium
      @Abraxium ปีที่แล้ว

      MemriTV type beat

    • @ismarwinkelman5648
      @ismarwinkelman5648 ปีที่แล้ว

      But what did he sound like? This video is not about the tiny achievements of one mediocre Ottoman, but the accents of pirates.

  • @gerry343
    @gerry343 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    2:05 Several 'villages' - Cornwall, Somerset, Devon and Dorset are counties. Bristol is a city.

    • @anthonymaddaford8474
      @anthonymaddaford8474 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Whomever wrote this script was definitely American lol

    • @chrisstrider
      @chrisstrider ปีที่แล้ว

      Dorset literally is a village

  • @CannonKnight
    @CannonKnight ปีที่แล้ว +12

    It's rare when one solitary movie performance defines a genre and is cemented in pop culture as the definitive way to portray such a character. I can't think of another instance where that has happened. Bela Lugosi's Dracula? Marlon Brando's Godfather? Those were just one character, not an entire genre of vampire or mob movies where most sound and act like them. Maybe Bruce Lee and martial arts movies, but that's a stretch.

    • @deboralee1623
      @deboralee1623 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Count Von Count had a bit of a Lugosi accent.
      he still might, but i haven't watched _Sesame Street_ since Jim Henson died; Jerry Nelson, Count's original performer, is also dead, and i don't know how the numbers-obsessed Muppet sounds now.

    • @hanszwetsloot329
      @hanszwetsloot329 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'd consider Darth Vader's sound as such, too.

  • @Mynachu
    @Mynachu ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Ahoy! this here be, by far, one o' me favorite video o' all! thank ye very much fer it Mateys!

  • @elizabethhughes5371
    @elizabethhughes5371 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Good morning Weird History!!! It's Sunday morning in beautiful Middle Tennessee again my fave Sunday video channel this morning its pirates love it 🛶⚓️🛶⚓️

  • @videogamevalley7523
    @videogamevalley7523 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    this was a very interesting video, once again learned something new today.

  • @DrumWild
    @DrumWild ปีที่แล้ว +14

    We were doing Talk Like A Pirate Day at work, when a manager who considered himself a ninja asked, "When is Talk Like A Ninja Day?"
    We had to remind him that ninjas are silent.

    • @majimespirit8421
      @majimespirit8421 ปีที่แล้ว

      😂😂😂😂

    • @mybachhertzbaud3074
      @mybachhertzbaud3074 ปีที่แล้ว

      You don't too many opportunities like that to politely tell you boss to shut up.😜

  • @dare_challenge_a_god1536
    @dare_challenge_a_god1536 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    To bring us sugar and tea and rum

  • @FakeSchrodingersCat
    @FakeSchrodingersCat ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The interesting thing about English accents is that the west country accent is one of the closest to the general Elizabethan accents that still remain in use. Meaning that Shakespeare should actually be performed in what to us sounds a lot like a pirate accent.

    • @mershall1971
      @mershall1971 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Doesn’t Bill Bryson say that to hear what Elizabethan English sounded like, watch a Yosemite Sam cartoon?!

    • @FakeSchrodingersCat
      @FakeSchrodingersCat 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@mershall1971 The quote was referring to late Revolutionary War era British and American, not Elizabethan. Late 18th century, Elizabethan was late 16th century

    • @andylane247
      @andylane247 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Shakespeare may have had a West Midlands accent.

  • @mandiemoore3272
    @mandiemoore3272 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I just have to comment on the linguist whose last name is Babel

  • @j.c.ca.o.l7035
    @j.c.ca.o.l7035 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video as always.

  • @AMXTomzo
    @AMXTomzo ปีที่แล้ว +1

    And all these I thought the the pirate Accent came from
    1934 Treasure Island movie with Wallace Beery,
    Really like your vids, keep up the great work 👍

  • @netto6681
    @netto6681 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    The Cornish independence movement are going to love you for describing Cornwall as a “village” 😳

    • @theawesomeman9821
      @theawesomeman9821 ปีที่แล้ว

      why leave Britain?

    • @netto6681
      @netto6681 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@theawesomeman9821 I think it’s mainly just about recognising it as a distinctly Celtic, cultural area, like Brittany in France. It used to have a distinct language that has mostly died out - I believe some want to see it taught in schools again, like Welsh is in Wales. From a practical point of view, it’s the poorest county in the country, so would need EU subsidies to be actually independent.

  • @v.emiltheii-nd.8094
    @v.emiltheii-nd.8094 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Ahoy there!

  • @paulcowlishaw
    @paulcowlishaw ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video Weird History

  • @stephenlash7586
    @stephenlash7586 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love your videos. Please do a video about Bishop Edmund Bonner from the Tudor period.

  • @Kelnx
    @Kelnx ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "Bilge" is a nautical term, but it is a physical part of the ship, not just the water that tends to collect in it. These are the lowest areas of the ship. Old wooden sailing vessels used to leak constantly as well as take on water from topside, particularly during storms. Sailors would have to carry tar/pitch onboard in order to constantly patch up leaks. Bilges were areas were all of that water would collect and would need to be emptied frequently to prevent sinking from too much ballast. Originally this was done the old fashioned way with buckets, but there were primitive hand-powered pumps often used by the 18th century.
    Bilges could also be used to add ballast if needed. Modern ships still have bilges even though they don't really "leak" per se, especially ships that use steam, as water is still collected from mechanical and plumbing systems. A bilge is basically a shipboard version of a basement sump. The term "bilge water" was more common but might have been shortened to "bilge" when referring to speech, meaning the same as "codswallop" or "malarkey" or the like. I've heard "bilge rat" used in some pirate movies, but that doesn't seem to have been a popular term until the age of coal-powered ships so I wonder if pirates ever really used that one. Typical sailors of the time wouldn't really have a reason to hang around the bilges enough to be associated with them like engineering crews in later ships were. I don't think the term is used anymore, but I've certainly spent enough time cleaning bilges to have been called one at some point.

  • @CaptainCold53
    @CaptainCold53 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    You have obviously overlooked the prior film rendition of Long John Silver by Wallace Beery in the MGM production of "Treasure Island." His is the original version that America and the world heard. I suspect that Newton's was an over the top facsimile of the Beery portrayal.

  • @btetschner
    @btetschner ปีที่แล้ว +6

    A+ video!
    WOW, I had no idea that accent was so new.
    Just shows a person how much of a cultural impact a great acting performance can have!
    My hometown was established in 1883, the year that Treasure Island was published as a book.

    • @Dingo-x
      @Dingo-x ปีที่แล้ว

      My Football team was founded in 1877 (Wolverhampton Wanderers). It seems crazy how accents and dialects have changed in such a short time in history.

    • @btetschner
      @btetschner ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Dingo-x That team has a lot of history! Great nickname too.

  • @universal3024
    @universal3024 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    “Arr ..”

  • @basfinnis
    @basfinnis ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Ahoy, I be from Cornwall arghhh

  • @stevenj9970
    @stevenj9970 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    What does a Pirate say on his 80th birthday??
    *"Aye, Matey!!"*

    • @deboralee1623
      @deboralee1623 ปีที่แล้ว

      ?anybody remember the non-dairy product called Matey? i've forgotten if it was a substitute for butter or sour cream -- the latter, i think -- but the TV ad featured someone on a ship, urging consumers to "Come aboard -- with Matey!"

    • @gdclemo
      @gdclemo ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@deboralee1623 I think I remember some sort of bubble-bath solution for kids called Matey, in the UK at least - it had bottles that looked like male or female pirates... or maybe I imagined all that?

    • @AV-fo5de
      @AV-fo5de ปีที่แล้ว

      @@gdclemo Absolutely true.

  • @joshy5245
    @joshy5245 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This channel never misses

  • @jimpomac
    @jimpomac ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What would have been a good idea is to actually have some Audio of Robert Newtons famous " AAAr, Jim lad "

  • @stevewhite7426
    @stevewhite7426 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Obscure fact: the flag we know isn’t the “jolly Roger.” That’s the skull and bones. The Jolly Roger was a red flag (jolie rouge or pretty red) for the color your decks will be if you don’t surrender in three minutes!

  • @bry117
    @bry117 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great topic idea!

  • @DeadSetOnDestruction
    @DeadSetOnDestruction ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video. This is why I subscribe

  • @joesantos2455
    @joesantos2455 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Arrr! You SLAY me Weird History!! I am slain!!!

  • @jovanweismiller7114
    @jovanweismiller7114 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    If the 'Golden Age of Piracy' lasted from 1650 to 1730, I seriously doubt that Sir Francis Drake was active in it as you state, because he died in 1596.

  • @theunseengirlfromafrica6698
    @theunseengirlfromafrica6698 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Please do a history video about Nigeria..we are the most populated black country and still no video 😿

  • @kimberlypatton205
    @kimberlypatton205 ปีที่แล้ว

    You shivered me Timbers, love ya WH!

  • @SofaKingShit
    @SofaKingShit ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I wonder where the saying "blow me down" originated.

    • @cindyknudson2715
      @cindyknudson2715 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Might it be something like "knock me over with a feather" ?

    • @Bella-fz9fy
      @Bella-fz9fy 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      In a version of an early English sea shanty,the lyrics meant a man being so ‘spent’ he falls down weak and can’t get back on board the ship.Seems English folk songs were obsessed with warning men about the dangers of ‘women of the night’😅

  • @robertpatter5509
    @robertpatter5509 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    "Shiver me timbers. I'll never be a landlubber"- Long John Silver.

  • @carriered4715
    @carriered4715 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    This was really good ! Just as a side note, I'm Cornish, and living in Ireland, someone recently asked me where I was from, and they were So surprised when I told them, because they thought I was from Eastern Europe, they find it So hard to understand what I'm Saying !! 😂😂🤣😂

    • @cleocatra9324
      @cleocatra9324 ปีที่แล้ว

      I met a Cornish lady her name is Kerenza

    • @beyondnatural9155
      @beyondnatural9155 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I’m from Belfast but left at age 9. I have no trouble with Zummerzet and Welsh but Caark accent is sometime hard.

    • @cleocatra9324
      @cleocatra9324 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@beyondnatural9155 my Irish friend grew up near Cork she said there was only one black guy with a heavy Cork accent in the whole town and it was really unexpected to hear him.

    • @vilstef6988
      @vilstef6988 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I've seen videos with young black boys speaking a cockney accent. Really unexpected to someone from the US.

    • @cleocatra9324
      @cleocatra9324 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@vilstef6988 ikr

  • @mooncove
    @mooncove 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Overall, great and interesting video and giving Robert Newton his due, arr! Just a couple of nitpicks:
    (1) The geography lesson at 2:04 refers to "several villages, including Cornwall, Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Bristol." Umm, except for Bristol, which is a city, those are all _counties_ of England, although Cornwall is also considered a Duchy, hence the title "Duchess of Cornwall." (Although a lot of Cornish people would prefer that it be its own country and not part of England at all. C.f., Mebyon Kernow.)
    (2) Thank you for acknowledging Robert Newton's contribution to the pirate vernacular, but I'm sorry to report that one of your examples at 12:43, "Flay😬 your shrivelled tongue," is a mishearing of, "Belay your swivel tongue." "Belay" (as in the posts along a ship's rails to which the rope lines were tied, the "belaying pins"), similar to "avast" (a sort of contraction of "hold fast"), means to stop, halt, or (put a) hold (on). Newton used it in that sense _many_ times, especially in the non-Disney movies & follow-up Australian TV series, "The Adventures of Long John Silver," in which he had increasing creative control.
    (3) "Old Grog" didn't start watering down Naval beer into grog until the 1750s, by any measure, after the end of the "Golden Age of Piracy."
    (4) As long as you're going back to the 1600s as the Golden Age of Piracy (technically, under English law, what other countries may have considered piracy, was government sanctioned as part of their war with Spain over the Pope's decision to punish Henry VIII for breaking off from the Roman Catholic church by giving the entire New World mostly to Spain and the part that's now part of Brazil to Portugal, with the war finally ending and the English government finally agreeing to crack down on piracy with the end of "Queen Anne's War" and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, followed in 1714 by the death of Queen Anne, last of the Stuart monarchs, at which point all the government-sanctioned mercenaries/privateers who had no other trade & carried on doing what they'd already _been_ doing legally became "pirates"), don't forget the arrsome (and unfortunate) accidental pirate/buccaneer, explorer & naturalist William Dampier, who is the only English pirate to have had his portrait painted (check out Diana & Michael Preston's biography "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind"), who was from Somerset! Also, the arch-nemesis of Captain Kidd--for whom Richard Zack makes an excellent case for his not having been a pirate at all but rather a political scapegoat in his book "The Pirate Hunter"--who actually _was_ a pirate and helped bring Kidd's life to a cruelly unjust end, Robert Culliford, was from Cornwall (specifically, the town of Looe).
    P.S. Sorry for the compulsive edits as I obsessively think of more details! That's how good your video was!👍

  • @George_M_
    @George_M_ ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Now I want to see a pirate movie where they use accurate west country accents.

  • @NatureandSpirit111
    @NatureandSpirit111 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I feel like the accent came from the Caribbean islands where they learned voodoo and picked up the language, hid their treasure from Kings. I feel like pirates were rogue soldiers who were kinda like a Robinhood of the seas but only for pirates.

  • @_SimpleJack_
    @_SimpleJack_ ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Nowadays pirates speak with Somali accents...

  • @thegreencat9947
    @thegreencat9947 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Love the Howard Pyle illustrations.

    • @stevedenis8292
      @stevedenis8292 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      His book that is long since out of print was filled with may of the illustrations and lots of good stories. I had a copy way back and since lost it I whish I could find it or at least pick up another one some time.

    • @thegreencat9947
      @thegreencat9947 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stevedenis8292 keep looking in thrift shops....you never know. I've found books I wanted...like a wish granted.😀

    • @stevedenis8292
      @stevedenis8292 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@thegreencat9947 I keep looking everywhere even garage sales.

    • @thegreencat9947
      @thegreencat9947 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stevedenis8292 I feel it. If I ever run across one ...I'll let you know.😊

    • @stevedenis8292
      @stevedenis8292 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@thegreencat9947 Thanks ,I bet soon as I get another copy ill find the other one.

  • @akeneo1169
    @akeneo1169 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Crazy how a woman named Molly babel became a linguist lol

  • @joescott1526
    @joescott1526 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    A pirate was seen dragging a board with a leash. When asked why he said it was because the Captain told him to walk the plank.

  • @newiehamilton2286
    @newiehamilton2286 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love your videos! I have them playing throughout the day. Could you do a series on the history of Thailand? Particularly how their surnames were created and how they use nicknames! Please? Can't wait to keep viewing and sharing your content :D

  • @pamelamays4186
    @pamelamays4186 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Suggestion: The Weird History Of The American Southern Accent.

  • @DiasThiago100
    @DiasThiago100 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I could be wrong, but i think it was Ramses III who described the Sea Peoples assault

  • @benisaten
    @benisaten ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Cheers guys. Always a 👍. Hope TIMELINE comes back. That's top notch 👌 Thanks again.

  • @cleocatra9324
    @cleocatra9324 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Ive always loved Robert Shaws accent in Jaws and wondered where he was from.

    • @madamrockford2508
      @madamrockford2508 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      He also did a TV series about pirates called, The Buccaneers. He was born in England.

    • @stephenchappell7512
      @stephenchappell7512 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@madamrockford2508
      Bolton Lancashire specifically

  • @sublimebud
    @sublimebud ปีที่แล้ว +3

    sooo it's kind of like Hillbillies in the U.S except there on water ? Hillbillies on water = Pirates ?

  • @viggycat8592
    @viggycat8592 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you Weird History guy for another fine narration. We don’t care for the substitute narrator! 👍😁

  • @tombruner9634
    @tombruner9634 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "The Sea Peoples" would be a great name for a pop rock group.

  • @stephenstevens6573
    @stephenstevens6573 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It's the Knights that say Ne!! They are looking for a shrubbbbberu!!

  • @_noname617
    @_noname617 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Templar Knights were burned at the stake Friday 13th, others slipped into the sea off the coast of Acres and became commissioned pirates

    • @nonameman7114
      @nonameman7114 ปีที่แล้ว

      So black flag wasn’t far off

  • @allenjenkins7947
    @allenjenkins7947 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Several villages? Don't you mean counties?
    Also, the speech in that area was influenced as much by Cornish, a Celtic language related to Welsh, as it was by West Saxon.

  • @chrismayer3919
    @chrismayer3919 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Can’t forget the pirate cat from ‘The Last Unicorn’ film 😼arrr

  • @alexbowman7582
    @alexbowman7582 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Pirate ships were the ultimate democracy, the crew chose the captain and in Treasure Island the captain is constantly buttering up the crew.

  • @AwfullWaffle
    @AwfullWaffle ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I had to look up linguist Molly Babel because her name was just a little too perfect. She’s real. I’ll have to read more about her. Did she do a clever name change or was she born with it. Or… did she stalk someone with the last name Babel and marry them just for the name? So many questions.

  • @dogstar7
    @dogstar7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    TH-cam has introduced me to the BBC series Time Team and the irascible westcountry archeologist Phil Harding. Phil exhibits every one of those unique regional colloquialism and dialectic choices. Listening to his "ooo-arr" for yes is like hearing living archeology itself.

    • @nunyadambusiness6902
      @nunyadambusiness6902 ปีที่แล้ว

      He's dead now... 💀

    • @benconway9010
      @benconway9010 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      He’s not dead you’re thinking of the other guy with white hair i think his name was mick

    • @nunyadambusiness6902
      @nunyadambusiness6902 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@benconway9010 oops 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️... I think I mixed them up... ffs...

  • @auntvesuvi3872
    @auntvesuvi3872 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for this! 🏴‍☠ #WeirdHistory #Pirates #PirateAccent

  • @txgunguy2766
    @txgunguy2766 ปีที่แล้ว

    If Alexander Graham Bell had his way we'd be answering the phone with "Ahoy-hoy?".

  • @cyberpunkzombie9461
    @cyberpunkzombie9461 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    You have done a REALLY good job of making the voice sound like stephen colbert. Good job!

  • @afwalker1921
    @afwalker1921 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    There are pockets of the West Country accent here in the States, in the Carolinas, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. You Tube has contributors from the last state who post videos from their family's lumber yard, and I love to listen to one daughter introduce their content because of the soft accent she has and the way she says "Lumber Capital Log Yarrrrd." Arr!

    • @andylane247
      @andylane247 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yes I heard some old lads from some barrier islands off the Carolinas, sounded like a West Country yokel !!!

    • @afwalker1921
      @afwalker1921 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@andylane247 My brother had a friend from there. We used to prod him to say, "There's a mouse in my house eating trout from the South, get it out, get it out, get it out!" He sounded Canadian...

    • @andylane247
      @andylane247 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@afwalker1921 😀😀😀

    • @afwalker1921
      @afwalker1921 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@andylane247 You've heard the accent! You understand...

  • @kakarroto007
    @kakarroto007 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    FYI, that song is "Sailors Hornpipe" and not Popeye the Sailor Man.

  • @jolaynemichaud4377
    @jolaynemichaud4377 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I think you meant ascended not accended.

  • @thenomadsduo
    @thenomadsduo ปีที่แล้ว

    I may be related to Bartholomew Roberts. “A short life but a merry one”

  • @cullentaussig
    @cullentaussig ปีที่แล้ว +3

    My other car is a pirate ship!

  • @benwherlock9869
    @benwherlock9869 ปีที่แล้ว

    Molly Babel the linguist. That's so perfect. 😂

  • @ladyprudence6
    @ladyprudence6 8 วันที่ผ่านมา

    You might hear some of these accents in Somerset County, Maryland in the Chesapeake.

  • @AlfredFJones1776
    @AlfredFJones1776 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Robert Newton is to Pirates what Clint Eastwood and John Wayne are to Cowboys.
    It’s him, then everyone else.

  • @stumccabe
    @stumccabe ปีที่แล้ว

    I live in Devon on the South West coast - you can still hear strong "pirate accents" around here (usually old men in country areas) and a sentence like "arrr she be a good ship" would not be surprising. The choice of the West Country accent was correct because so many pirates came from these parts.

  • @kellyp5381
    @kellyp5381 ปีที่แล้ว

    Anybody know the movie at 13:23. Weird History is my favorite TH-cam channel.

  • @lu21fer
    @lu21fer ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A little bit of a stupid question but what is the tune playing from 0:43 to 1:53, I have been whistling it in my thoughts for like 20+ years but still doesnt know the name of it ?

    • @AV-fo5de
      @AV-fo5de ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It's the Sailors' Hornpipe, a traditional tune.

  • @nigeldavey1043
    @nigeldavey1043 ปีที่แล้ว

    I live at the North end of the West Country in Gloucestershire but we say Glawster round 'are. We don't so often say Ar as you suggest but Aye and as you suggest be is likely to be used rather than am, are or is. In fact although the strong accent and dialect is now fading ( thanks largely to the influence of the internet) not too long ago locals in this neck of the woods would greet each other with the epithet " 'ow bist " which of course is how are you. If you went to a coastal town when I was younger you could buy little books with translations of the commonly used phrases of the locality. Despite popular belief the accent and idioms are widely different from county to county. There's still folk in Brizzle (Bristol) who nobody but a local would would understand. A mild example would be " We wanna Brizzle last not ta zee an Operal an the Primal Donal 'and a vois look a script Owel. We wish glad to get back to quit of war Cortinal an got one ". When it's speak like a Pirate day us be jus talkin' loik us do every day. Oi be goin' now then but I'll be back dreckly.

  • @geoffsecombe
    @geoffsecombe ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Why are pirates pirates?
    Because they ARRRR!

  • @ESPLTD322
    @ESPLTD322 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I literally just always thought it was an old school, 18th century era, Irish accent. I didn’t know they were different until now haha

    • @white-dragon4424
      @white-dragon4424 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      My guess by that comment that you're one of those who thinks that all English people speak in posh RP? In reality, that posh accent is an artificial accent of education and class that's used by a mere 2% of the English population. Even some non-English like Tony Blair (born in Scotland) speak it because he went to a private school. The rest of England has dozens of regional accents and dozens of variations of those regional accents. In England, the accent changes approximately every 20 miles that you travel in every direction.

  • @ftgorbitz1811
    @ftgorbitz1811 ปีที่แล้ว

    Can you do a video on bastille prison ??

  • @helenamcginty4920
    @helenamcginty4920 ปีที่แล้ว

    Cornwall along with Devon by the way was a major source of tin much valued in the bronze age right into the 20th century. It was a major part of the trade routes across prehistoric europe and one of the reasons the Romans invaded in 43 CE.

  • @titijijo1047
    @titijijo1047 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Babel is the perfect name for a linguist.