"blergh" (and "argh")

[Garson O'Toole]

Dan Goncharoff wrote
> I want to say Treasure Island, because it is the source of almost
> everything Pirate, but there is no "argh" in Stevenson's immortal work,
> just a lot of indeterminate oaths.

I think that is a natural place to look because of the depiction of
pirates in latter–day adaptions of the work. This 1990 cite is late,
but it does provide an example of the speech expected from movie
pirates in Treasure Island, including "argh":

Cite: 1990 January 22, Chicago Tribune, Heston's 'Treasure Island' is
a Wild  Adventure by Rick Kogan, TV/radio critic, Page 3, Chicago,
Illinois.

Virtually every man in "Treasure Island" speaks as if he were
attempting to dislodge a shovelful of gravel from his throat, which is
just the way we want our pirates, when we can get them, to talk.
...
It's no wonder that shortly before making his escape with a sack of
dubloons, and a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum, Silver says to young
Jim, "Argh, what a team we might have made."

The term "argh" does not appear in the book Treasure Island as Dan
Goncharoff notes. Long John Silver does say "Ah" many times. He also
uses other characteristic terms: "matey" and "swabs":

"Ah! Black Dog," says he. "HE'S a bad un; but there's worse that put him on."
"Ah, he looked a shark, he did!"
"Ah, she's a handsome craft, she is"
"Ah, they was a sweet crew, they was!"
"And now you see, mate, I'm pretty low, and deserted by all; and Jim,
you'll bring me one noggin of rum, now, won't you, matey?"
"Doctors is all swabs"

Maybe some pirate speech is rooted in early movies or plays. How much
of the evolution of pirate diction and manner is based on actors
observing previous performances?

Garson

Charles Doyle wrote:
>> I just read an e-mail from a former student (mid-twentyish) in which she used the interjection "blergh!"--which was new to me.
>>
>> _Urban Dictionary_ registers the word, one of the (three) contributors offering an etymology: "a combination of the words: blah, argh, and ugh."  (How would "ugh" figure in the blend? Perhaps explaining the vowel?)
>>
>> When, I wonder, (and how) did "argh" become the ubiquitously-recognized staple of Pirate-speak?  The OED records the interjection "argh" (the "-r-" is optional, depending on the rhoticism of the dialect, I suppose), but the entry says nothing about pirates. Have we discussed maricanine "argh"?
>>
>> Charlie

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