Learn to Speak Cachilote!

When I was quite young, my older sister and her boyfriend (whom she later married, and is still married to) used to carry on conversations that nobody could understand. Especially us younger siblings, of course...which was the whole purpose of it anyway!

Prerequisites:
Open mind
Quick mind
Loose tongue
Flexible tongue
Sense of humor!

The mysterious Cachilote Language! OK, I'm not sure I even spelled the word correctly, since I can't find anything online that even resembles that word as being associated with any language! A few spelling variants brought up some references to somebody's sailing boat in the Galapagos Islands, and some information about a sperm whale, and more about a bird from Argentina; but nothing makes any reference to any languages! The word is pronounced "catch-a-loadie", and it apparently means nothing at all, as related to language. Oh, well!

Hmmm...!? Hoodwinked? Could it be that my sister and her boyfriend concocted the whole thing just to keep us snotty little kids at bay? Hmmmmm...! They're clever enough; so they probably could have come up with it alright.

Hoo-boy! OK, so what is it? The Cachilote language is one that uses English sounding words but in a unique way. I can remember my sister and her boyfriend carrying on a discussion using Cachilote. It would sound something like this: (him):Hack-e-lul-lul-o! Hack-o-wack a-rud-e yack-o-u? (her):O-hack, I-mum jack-u-sus-tut fuf-i-nun-e tut-hack-a-nun-kuk yack-o-u! (him):Wack-hack-a-tut dud-o yack-o-u wack-a-nun-tut-o dud-o tut-o-dud-a-yack? (her):Lul-e-tut-sus gug-o tut-o tut-hack-e bub-e-a-cuc-hack; i-tut-sus vuv-e-rud-yack nun-i-cuc-e o-u-tut tut-o-dud-a-yack. (him):O-kuk! Lul-e-tut-sus gug-o!

Heh, heh! By now I'm sure you're probably laughing at the crude sound of the Cachilote Language; especially if you were able to read it fairly fast, and most especially out loud! It always sounds better when spoken fast! And, it is less decipherable that way too.

Hack-e-lul-lul-o! Deciphering it all: Maybe you figured it out already; as it isn't really as secretive as I once thought; before my sister and her boyfriend finally told us, just before they got married and decided they wouldn't need to use it anymore in our presence.

Cachilote is really quite simple when you come right down to it. It uses the English alphabet, and each word is spelled out instead of spoken as a word; but there's a catch! The spelling out is done with Cachilote words. That is, each letter in Cachilote has a completely unique sound from anything we would associate with the English alphabet.

For example: All vowels are spoken just as they are in English (spoken with "long" vowel sounds). Consonants are spoken using the consonant letter, followed by a "u", followed by the consonant letter again. So, the letter "B" would be spoken "bub", "C" would be "cuc" (long "u", since "K", or "kuk", which uses a short "u" could be confused with it). Most consonants are handled similarly, except a handful that might be a bit awkward using the "u" in the middle. Thus, "H" becomes "hack", "J" becomes "jack", "R" becomes "rud", "W" becomes "wack", "X" becomes "xack", "Y" becomes "yack", and "Z" becomes "zud". There may be some subtle variations in these, depending upon individual preferences. For example, some may prefer to use "zack" for "Z" instead of "zud", etc. That's ok, since Cachilote doesn't seem to have any textbooks published on it anyway!

Using Cachilote to carry on secret conversations: Practice makes perfect!
Of course, as with any language learning, practice equals fluency. If you can get past the laughter when you practice, you will be able to carry on a conversation that folks nearby will not understand; unless, of course, they know Cachilote too!