Moghrey jiu chloie mee feddanyn millish lesh caarjyn. Cha nel eh cho grianagh as jea agh t’eh çhiow. Ta nabooyn-dorrys noa aym – she studeyryn adsyn as hie ad stiagh jiu. Cha daink mee nyn guail foast. Dooyrt y çhiarn thallooin rhym myr vees ad ro tharmaneagh, cur fys da, agh er leshyn cha bee crampys erbee ayn.

This morning I played recorders with friends. It isn’t as sunny as yesterday but it is warm. I have now neighbours – they’re students who moved in today. I haven’t met them yet. The landlord asked me to call him if they’re too noisy, but he thinks that there won’t be any problems.

Va laa çhiow, grianagh ayn jiu as ‘syn ‘astyr va mee smooinaghtyn er goll magh er my ghaawheeyl. Ren mee pumpal ny crouyn neese as va mee aarloo goll, as eisht smooinee mee dy jarroo bare lhiam goll son cosheeaght. Myr shen chur mee my ghaawheeyl er ash ‘sy shamyr aarlee as hie mee magh er chosh. S’mie lhiam daawheeylaght, agh cha nel mee eh y yannoo s’anvenkey ny laghyn shoh – ta ram cronkyn ‘syn ard shoh as t’eh kiart ny s’assey dy gholl son cosheeaght.

It was a warm, sunny day today and this afternoon I was thinking of going out on my bike. I pumped up the tyres and was ready to go, then I thought that actually I’d prefer to go for a walk. So I put my bike back in the kitchen and went out on foot. I enjoy cycling, but rarely do it these days – that are plenty of hills in this area and it’s just easier to go for a walk.

Cha haghyr red erbee feeu çheet er jea. Moghrey jiu haink fer voish British Gas as ren eh shirveish er yn coirrey as y corys çhiow banglaneagh – cha row scoltey erbee ayn. ‘Syn ‘astyr haink yn grian magh as hie mee dys smeir y lorg. Cha row monney ry-gheddyn, agh hooar mee dy liooar dys blass jias y chur lesh nyn ooylyn voish my villey ooyl. Er lhiam dy vel imbagh smeir begnagh ec kione.

Nothing much happened yesterday. This morning a man from British Gas came to service the boiler and central heating – there weren’t any faults. In the afternoon the sun came out and I went out in search of blackberries. There weren’t many about, but I got enough to add a nice flavour to the apples from my apple tree. I think the blackberry season is almost over.

As I’m sure you’re aware, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a celebration of the pirate dialect found in films and books and based on West Country English. This idea came from Dave Barry, a journalist and writing in Miami, who mentioned the idea is his newspaper column in 2002 as a joke. Now, according to the official Talk Like A Pirate Day website, millions of people around the world celebrate this day by having pirate-themed parties and talking like pirates.

Why are pirates often depicted as speaking with approximations of West Country accents?

According to Wikipedia, many pirate accents are based on the one used on that of Robert Newton, a native of Dorset (part of the West Country) with a strong Dorset accent, who played Long John Silver in the 1950 film Treasure Island, and also appeared in the 1952 film Blackbeard the Pirate.

According to the Dialect Blog, during the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’ – the late 17th and early 18th centuries – many English pirates came from Bristol, Devon and Cornwall, which are part of the West Country. Pirates are also given West Country accents in Robert Louis Stevenson’s stories.

Cha haghyr monney jea – ren mee beggan obbyr, ren mee cliaghtey ymmodee greieyn-kiaull, as ‘syn oie hie mee dys thie oast Greagagh er son y possan coloayrtys yl-çhengagh. Agh dy meeaighar cha daink sleih erbee elley, myr shen haink mee dy valley lurg lieh oor.

Not much happened yesterday – I did a bit of work, I practised various instruments, and in the evening I went to the Greek taverna for the polyglot conversation group. Unfortunately nobody else turned up though, so I came home after half an hour.