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Pig Latin Definition

If you are trying to learn a second language – English is your first – Pig Latin is the perfect second language. No wonder it has a cult status among children and adults alike. And the most fun part about learning this new language is that its fun – essentially it’s not a language, its a language game or argot/cant (jargon). But wait for a language game?!! Yes and that’s why it’s fun to learn this “language” and what’s more, you get to learn a “second” language in the process. The Pig Latin meaning in itself is a deliberate misnomer – well at least the “Latin” part of it is. Several Pig Latin words like “ixnay” and “amscray” have found a place in regular English

History of Pig Latin

One of the first instances of the use of Pig Latin was in the 16th century by no other than Shakespeare. Back then, it was called dog Latin. The modern version of Pig Latin burst into the cultural scene in 1919 through a Columbia Records album containing a song “I-Yay Ove-Lay oo-yay eerie-day” by a singer named Arthur Fields.

The Three Stooges shorts made Pig Latin famous in the 1930s by famously using “ix-nay” and “am-scray”. Ixnaying and Ixnayed have been famously included as a present participle and simple past and past participle of the word “Ixnay”.

Other languages have a similar play on words. For example, French has the Loucherbem and Verlan, which are French slang, and are is quite similar to English pig Latin in terms of rules.

How to Speak Pig Latin?

To speak Pig Latin language is easy. It relies on the placements of consonant and vowel sounds of the regular English world. We will now see some Pig Latin rules that will essentially make you an expert in no time. And as with every other language, the use of it will be easier with experience. Ets-Lay Et-Gay Arted-Stay (Let’s get started).

Pig Latin Rules

For the words beginning with consonant sounds: If the words begin with consonant sounds, the letters before the initial vowel are placed at the end of the character sequence. Then, the suffix “ay” is added, as in the following examples:

“pig” = “igpay”
“latin” = “atinlay”
“me” = “emay”
“duck” = “uckday”

For the words beginning with multiple consonants forming single sound: When words begin with consonant clusters, the whole sound is added to the end when speaking or writing. Let’s look at some examples:

“stupid” = “upidstay”
“smile” = “ilesmay”
“string” = “ingstray”
“glove” = “oveglay”
“trash” = “ashtray”

What if words begin with vowels? For words beginning with vowel sounds, the vowel is left alone, and usually, the suffix ‘yay’ is added to the end. Others might add “way” or “hay” depending on the dialect used. Here are some examples:

“are” = “areyay” or “areay”
“eat” = “eatyay” or “eatay”
“omelet” = “omeletyay” or “omeletay”
“egg” = “eggyay” or “eggay”
“explain” = “explainyay”

A different structure for words beginning with a vowel: Sometime when words begin with vowels one might remove the starting vowel along with the first consonant(s). Let’s look at some examples:

“under” = “erunday”
“every” = “eryevay”
“another” = “otheranay”
“island” = “andislay”

The sentence structure remains the same as English: Rather than having to exchange the sounds and add a sound in the end, some sentences form the Pig Latin could be remembered. A few key phrases can be remembered and expressed without thinking. This will help speed up the process of communication considerably! Here are some examples:

“What’s up?” = “At’s-whay up-way? “
“How are you?” = “Ow-hay are-way ou-yay?”
“What are you doing later?” = “At-whay are-way ou-yay oing-day ater-lay? “
“We live in a city.” = “E-way ive-lay in-way a-way ity-cay. “
“I hope this is what you asked for.” = “I-way ope-hay is-thay is-way at-whay ou-yay asked-way or-fay.”

Pig Latin to English translation

Now that you know the rules of Pig Latin, the next thing to do is to use it. Find a friend who is interested as you are such that you can start practicing – a learner will tolerate your foibles during the sessions. What can be fun is one can act as a ” Pig Latin transltor ” and can essentially latin translation what the person is saying in Englsih during the practice sessions. This as our experience suggests help in quicker learning.

“Ank-Thay Ou-Yay Or-Fay Eading-Ray! Ope-Hay Ou-Yay Ave-Hay Eat-Gray Ime-Tay Earning-Leay”