Words to Avoid
As those who interact frequently with persons of Gith descent (or who are just up on their Planar history) will know, the martial Githyanki and their monastic sibling race, the Githzerai, split so long ago that they each speak a different dialect of Gith. However, the split was not so long ago to render these dialects mutually incomprehensible. Nevertheless a non-native speaker (such as yourself) may struggle to understand the nuances of each dialect. As such, here are words in each dialect to avoid using when speaking with members of the opposing dialects, to avoid accidentally insulting your Gith hosts/ guests/ employees/ business partners/ shipmates/ captors.
- kry'ki (GY)- an expression of surprise when encountering a potential combatant, a monster, or a potential hostile animal. The GZ translation is literally "withered life energy" and as such is considered particularly heinous and heretical, if not an outright curse on all who hear it, due to their monastic inclinations and uses of "qi" (ki in Gith). The literal GY translation is akin to the Common phrase "bad vibes", and in fact the Common word "crikey" comes from GY Gith.
- dron'zho bar'by (GZ)- "to flip one's mother over on the grill" in GY, whereas dron'zho just means "to know one's mother" in GZ, and the full phrase is meaningless. In either dialect the conjugation would be:
dron'zhor | dron'zhort
dron'zhos | dron'zhost
dron'zhot | dron'zhog
- Closely related is drun'zho in both dialects (drun being father). This phrase is particularly offensive due to the Gith's previous status as a food source for the Illithids. The GZ equivalent is dron'tro ber'bi, with similar conjungation.
- g'hetl'ah (GY)- literally "without a brain" in GZ, "Sword-brained" in GY, indicating an excellent fighter
- hoonir (GZ)- "painfully stupid" in GY, "blessed" or "silver one" in GZ
Any and all words or phrases containing "ir'g'hel" (illithid) or "ir'g'hel'thig" (illithids), or any terminology related to mind flayers or cephalopods should not be used in reference to any Gith, if you value your life, limbs, and/or possessions. Such words and phrases include:
- Ir'g'helg'hel (ear gey-LIG el)- squid brain (lit. Illithid mind)
- Ir'yanki (ear yan-KY)- mindflayer tadpole (lit. child of pain)
- Irhanachri (ear-han-AK-ri) - one awaiting ceremorphosis (the procedure by which adult mind flayers are created). The implication is that the subject is eager or excited to be changed.
- Chal'amar'i - calamari, borrowed from Common as a slang word for mind flayer. Considered especially heinous in reference to Gith. Use at your own peril.
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