# Pig Latin: Well, put me on a spit and roast me! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488 "2004-05-28T11:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/1 "2004-05-28T11:01:18Z")
Actually, I have no complaints about **samclem** ’s [article about pig Latin](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpiglatin.html), but I do have a question. (I didn’t grow up ever using pig Latin, although its existence is not unfamiliar to me, so please bear with me as I ask the following.) I realize that pig Latin probably doesn’t have the strictest of rules, but when **samclem** says that > [@samclem](#): > > In pig Latin, one takes a word, i.e., bibliophage, moves the first letter to the end of the word, and adds an “ay” sound. So, we get ibliophagebay. … he immediately follows up with “ixnay” and “amscray” (“nix” and “scram”, respectively) as examples. “Ixnay” follows that main rule, but “amscray” takes the first two letters and boots them to the end. In addition the later-used phrase, “Ankindmay isway oomeday!”, is, I suppose, “Mankind is doomed!” Except, using the initial rule, shouldn’t it be more along the lines of “Ankindmay siay ddooemay!” Yes, I realize the final product of that last one looks and sounds odd (go ahead, give the pronunciation a whirl!), but are there myriad rules of which pig Latiners are aware… or, because of its silliness, are you pretty much allowed to make it up as you go along? ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/2 "2004-05-28T12:09:12Z")
When I was a kid, we did have alternate rules for certain words in Pig Latin; one was: a word beginning with a vowel gets to stay the same, but with “-ay” tacked on the end. Therefore, “Ankindmay _is-ay_ oomedday”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/3 "2004-05-28T12:12:18Z")
“-way” for vowels is the more common standard. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/4 "2004-05-28T12:21:53Z")
I’m talking with co-worker (who’s an accomplished speaker of pig Latin–or so it seems when he just wants to annoy me, and won’t stop with the -ay speech ;)), and his rule when dicing and splicing the words is that he takes all the letters before the first vowel, moves them to the end and then adds the ubiquitous “ay”. _School_, for example, then becomes _oolschay_. This, I suppose, is what accounts for _amscray_. As for when a word begins with a vowel, if that vowel is the only, lonely one, he normally leaves it in place and simply adds an “ay” to the end. _Inn_, therefore, becomes _innay_. _Unicorn_, however, transforms into the mighty _icornunay_. I dunno… maybe he speaks a variant, a sub-dialect: pork chop Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/5 "2004-05-28T13:39:07Z")
I grew up with the rules you’ve just described, **SkipMagic**. Its the first set of consonants that move, not the first letter. Short words that start with a vowel (such as “is”) were generally left as-is. I’m not sure about longer ones … ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/6 "2004-05-28T15:21:48Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > I grew up with the rules you’ve just described, **SkipMagic**. Its the first set of consonants that move, not the first letter. Short words that start with a vowel (such as “is”) were generally left as-is. I’m not sure about longer ones … Me, too. Except . . . I don’t remember words like “unicorn” – words that begin with vowels but whose initial sound is really consonantal – being specifically addressed in my Intro to Pig Latin course. On thinking it over, I realized that if I had to say ‘unicorn’ in Pig Latin, I would say ‘oonicornyay.’ Perhaps this is a regional dialect. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/7 "2004-05-28T22:52:25Z")
:::::::_breathes a sigh of relief_ :::::::: [sub]perhaps they’ll all just argue about the rules of the modern ‘pig Latin’ rather than criticize my history.[/sub] \*crosses fingers and wipes sweat off brow… \* ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/8 "2004-05-29T15:36:56Z")
> [@Aholibah](#): > > Me, too. Except . . . I don’t remember words like “unicorn” – words that begin with vowels but whose initial sound is really consonantal – being specifically addressed in my Intro to Pig Latin course. They don’t usually get to that until Pig Latin 212: Advancedway Onversationalcay Igpay Atinlay. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/9 "2004-06-01T04:02:02Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > “amscray” takes the first two letters and boots them to the end. “Three, sir!” - MP&THG ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/10 "2004-06-01T04:08:05Z")
> [@AndrewT](#): > > “Three, sir!” > > - MP&THG Obviously, the third letter follows along because of peer pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/11 "2004-06-01T04:31:44Z")
> [@John W. Kennedy](#): > > “-way” for vowels is the more common standard. I learned it as “-hay” for vowels. Clearly, further study is necessary… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/12 "2004-06-01T04:34:32Z")
Hmmm… I learned it as “-yay” ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/13 "2004-06-01T04:45:39Z")
One of my favorite CDs is a Gregorian chant done at least partially in Pig Latin. It is about a day on the farm. In the beginning the pigs are sleeping and so the chant begins: > [@](#): > > ore-snay…ore-snay…ore-snay…ore-snay The name of the CD is _Grunt_. It comes complete with translation and is gloriously funny. I also really like the music. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/14 "2004-06-01T15:26:22Z")
Edsay ibliophagebay, icisneday Atinamlay orcorumpay? * * * Imetay avelstray inway iversday acespay ithway iversday ersonspay. –_Asway Ouyay Ikelay Itway_, IIIway:iiway:283ay ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/15 "2004-06-01T16:21:27Z")
> [@](#): > > In pig Latin, one takes a word, i.e., bibliophage, moves the first letter to the end of the word, and adds an “ay” sound. [nitpick]Isn’t that supposed to be “e.g.”?[/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/16 "2004-06-01T17:02:56Z")
My brother and I were relatively fluent and could hold full conversations that mystified most listeners (other than our father who, unfortunately, was nearly as fluent). The rather loose rules we used were often phonetic rather then spelling based, but this varied. So, for example, “hour” might become “our-way” (we used the -way rule for vowel sounds) rather then “our-hay” because the word started with a vowel _sound_. But other times it might be “our-hay”. I can’t explain when or why we varied it. It was done without much thought and probably was based on what flowed off the tounge most easily or sounded better in a given context. As far as I can recall, we always combined leading consonants so, for example, “scram” became “am-scray” rather than “cram-say” and “the” became “u-thay” or “ee-thay” rather than “hu-tay” or “hee-tay”. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/17 "2004-06-01T18:46:53Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > [sub]perhaps they’ll all just argue about the rules of the modern ‘pig Latin’ rather than criticize my history.[/sub] If we want to criticize someone’s history, we’ll take it to the Pit. Oh, wait. RR ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/18 "2004-06-01T18:51:21Z")
Ginger Rogers started her career in vaudeville as a Charleston dancer and pig-Latin singer (now you know what killed vaudeville!). Catch her at the beginning of _Gold Diggers of 1933_, singing a verse and chorus of “We’re In the Money” in breakneck-fast pig Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/19 "2004-06-01T19:07:17Z")
[hijack] In high school, I worked in food service with other high school kids, and middle-aged managers. This one particular manager was nice, but not too bright. Us kids were typical. We used to say right to her “Uckfay ouyay ya uckinfay itchbay” when she’d ask us to do stuff. “Could you mop the floor before you go?” “Uckfay ouyay ya uckinfay itchbay.” I think she thought it was a funny way of just saying “Okay”. It astounded me that 1. she didn’t know pig latin because both my parents did and everyone else I knew. 2. couldn’t at least detect the sounds of dirty words hidden in there. She once asked us what we were doing – she thought we were talking backwards. It didn’t help that sometimes we did that too with some common phrases. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488/20 "2004-06-01T19:28:11Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > Hmmm… > I learned it as “-yay” o-say did-yay i-yay, as-yay ell-way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pig-latin-well-put-me-on-a-spit-and-roast-me/247488.md?page=2)