Bilingual... ish

           The other day I met someone who can’t speak Pig Latin. This always surprises me because, like jumping rope or skipping, it just seems like a required part of childhood.

          So I thought I’d write a blog for all those people who perhaps speak Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, and Swahili—yet have not mastered this secret language.

          And here’s the real secret: You’re already speaking it!  Yes, my friends, once again I have compiled a blog unlike any other. I have found four—count ‘em, four—English words that also double as Pig Latin!

          Let’s begin with a word we’ve all used: Ebay.  This is Pig Latin for be.  Or bee.  I-yay E-say Un-way Ebay. It means, “I see one bee.”

          Outstay is another one. It means to overstay, as in many a visiting relative.  You will find it in Pig Latin if you’re trying to say, ‘Stout.”  This is a word that is both a noun (describing a dark beer) or an adjective (describing a strong or chubby person).

          And in either case, it is pronounced, “Outstay” in Pig Latin. The “st” blend stays together.

          Next we have the word, obey. It’s Pig Latin for Bow, which has too many meanings to list here (bow tie, bow and arrow, a violin’s bow, etc.).  Pig Latin rules are that you must put the first consonant after the word, with “ay” following.  This gives you “Oh Bay.”

          “Airway” is the last word, and it’s Pig Latin for “wear.” It comes from putting that W at the end, followed by “ay.”   “Can you wear this hat?” becomes “An-cay oo-yay airway is-thay at-hay?”  Soon you’ll be absolutely fluent at the Bay of Pigs, England’s Swine village, or even Hogwarts.

          Ow-nay  oo-yay  ow-knay.

While practicing this marvelous tongue, watch any of the hundreds of short life hacks on my Youtube Mom channel!