Overview
Pig Latin uses the pig-latinizer library to translate `text`. Words are split on whitespace, slashes, underscores and dashes. A word that begins with a consonant has its leading consonant cluster moved to the end followed by "ay", so "packed" becomes "ackedpay"; a word that begins with a vowel gets "yay" appended, so "is" becomes "isyay". Y is treated as a consonant at the start of a word and as a vowel elsewhere.
Capitalization is carried over to the translated word, so "The" becomes "Ethay" and an all-caps word stays all caps. Punctuation, spaces, tabs and line breaks are preserved in place. Apostrophes inside contractions and possessives are removed so "don't" translates cleanly, and when a translation would end in a hard-to-read repeated consonant the library inserts a hyphen. Tokens with no sensible Pig Latin form, such as words containing digits, are passed through unchanged.
`exclusions` is an optional array of strings. Each entry must be a string; any other type returns a 400 error naming the bad index. Entries are trimmed and duplicates removed, and each remaining entry is added to the translator's exclusion list so matching words are output untranslated. The cleaned list is echoed back as `exclusions`, or as an empty array when none were sent. `text` in the response holds the translated string. There are no plan-dependent fields.
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the next are its inputs, and the field after them says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("piglatin", A2, "text")=VERVE.CALL("piglatin", A2, "text")A2 holds the text you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("piglatin", "hello world", "text")=VERVE.CALL("piglatin", "hello world", "text")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below, followed by the field. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after that — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
textRequired | string | argument 2 (A2) | The text to encode in Pig Latin |
exclusionsOptional | array | "exclusions", value | Words to exclude from encoding |
Passing an option
=VERVE("piglatin", A2, "text", "exclusions", "<exclusions>")=VERVE.CALL("piglatin", A2, "text", "exclusions", "<exclusions>")What lands in your sheet
The field — the argument after the inputs — is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Leave the field out and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("piglatin", A2)=VERVE.CALL("piglatin", A2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the field argument accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as the field | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
text | string | Ethay uaresqay oodenway crate asway ackedpay otay ebay ippedshay. Otay avehay isyay etterbay anthay… | Text encoded in Pig Latin format |
exclusions | array | ["crate","hope"] | The words left untranslated, echoed back after trimming and de-duplication |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 1 credit per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("piglatin", A2:A100, "text")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The field is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your text values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in piglatin | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The field path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Use cases
- Word Game Mechanics
- Word game developers transform clues or puzzle prompts into Pig Latin while keeping player names and brand terms intact.
- Chat Filter Plugins
- Social messaging platforms offer playful message filters that translate conversational dialogue on demand before posting to a room.
- Linguistics Practice Tools
- To teach phonetics and syllable structures, reading software converts sample vocabulary while protecting punctuation and specific instructional terms.
- Spoiler Text Obfuscation
- Obfuscate plot spoilers in community discussion boards so readers must decode the Pig Latin sentences manually to see details.
Other ways to use Pig Latin
Set up Pig Latin on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
Related
More in Text Processing: