Pig Latin is not a true language, it is a game in which the beginning consonant or consonant sound of each word is transferred to the end of the word, along with the the syllable -ay, as in igpay atinlay. If a word begins with a vowel sound, the word is rendered into Pig Latin by adding -yay to the end of the word. Invented language is a phenomenon that stretches across cultures. Pig Latin seems to have been invented by American children sometime in the 1800s, originally it was called Hog Latin. Pig Latin solidified its place in the American consciousness with the release of the song Pig Latin Love in 1919. Note that Pig Latin is properly rendered with capitalization, though the term is occasionally found rendered as pig Latin.

Examples

That would allow him to return to Cleveland over and over, increasing the chances he’ll hold at least one news conference in pig Latin. (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)

For a little while, True Detective’s second season seemed like a dark curio that might blossom into something transcendently weird rather than devolving into endless scenes of Vince Vaughn speaking something resembling Pig Latin. (The Atlantic Magazine)

Probably my earliest foreign language achievement was a workmanlike Pig Latin in about third grade, which required a modest but no doubt stimulating and constructive effort to create and interpret words and sentences. (“Ooday ooyay eakspay Igpay Atinlay?”) (The Daily News)

Swift, clearly ecstatic about the floral missive, took the opportunity to announce her candidacy for vice president, pairing her photo of the bouquet with the hashtag #KanTay2020, which is both a portmanteau of Kanye and Taylor and almost something in Pig Latin. (Vanity Fair Magazine)