Pirates, no doubt, spoke in a way that helped to identify them as pirates, as if the raping and pilaging wasn't enough, but I wonder where the stage dialect of "Ahoy, and argh, me maties" arose? In Treasure Island? As far as I remember, many pirates did not even speak English, King's or buccaneers'. How do pirates speak in other languages, say French, Spanish, or Portuguese? I almost remember the Tunisian pirates in Candide speaking French quite well. Vikings were considered pirates, too. Old Norse pirates? Latin pirata < Greek peirate:s < peirao: 'to attempt, try'; cf. English fear and Latin periculum 'danger'.