“The term ‘arrgh’ ['arr'] — and certainly its notoriety as a term in pirate speech — is almost totally attributable to a single person. Of the 223 instances of ‘arrgh’ in film, television, and literature, all but eight were spoken by characters played by actor Robert Newton. Newton most famously played Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950), reprising the role in Long John Silver’s Return to Treasure Island (1954) and television’s ‘The Adventures of Long John Silver’ (1955), and moreover starred as Blackbeard in Blackbeard the Pirate (1952).

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“Of the eight non-Newton instances of the use of ‘arrgh,’ four were spoken by actors during scenes or exchanges with Newton in films or television episodes starring Newton.

“While Newton obviously did not invent the term (which is spoken in both the 1934 film version of Treasure Island and the 1940 book Adam Penfeather, Buccaneer), the actor — and the lasting popularity of the 1950 production of Treasure Island in which he appeared — cemented ‘arrgh’ into the pirate classic it is today. Newton relied heavily on a dark, throaty delivery and also peppered his pirate characters’ speech liberally with ‘arrgh’ and other noise terms to show off that guttural style.

“The frequent use of noise terms by Newton’s pirate characters only accelerated in his later films. While Newton’s 1950 Long John Silver (Treasure Island) used ‘arrgh’ only nine times in that 96-minute film, for instance, his 1954 Long John Silver (Return to Treasure Island) used ‘arrgh’ 27 times in 102 minutes, and his 1952 Blackbeard (Blackbeard the Pirate) used the term 50 times in 98 minutes — an average of more than twice a minute.”

– The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers and Rogues, George Choundas

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