The following is what happens after I peruse too many "National Talk Like a Pirate Day" websites.
How to talk like a (Gith) pirate
The language of the Gith pirates is comprehensible to Githyanki ears, but only barely. The harshly elegant language of sword-speak has been mutated almost beyond recognition.
Additionally, among Gith pirates who have lived in the Cage for a long time, Sigil cant has begun to creep in, making the lingo even more bizarre than it was.
General tips:
Don’t enunciate well. Hating becomes hatin’. Of becomes O’. Captain becomes cap’n.
Use contractions liberally.
Use ‘be’ liberally. Example: ‘I be hatin’ those bloody ‘lithids somethin’ fierce!’
Occasionally words are actually enunciated properly – for emphasis. A captain is usually called ‘cap’n,’ but “Captain of Captains” is enunciated properly.
Most tips of the “Talk Like a Pirate” type apply to learning the Gith Pirate speech. Discretion is to be used, though – they would never use a term like “Godspeed,” and they have some unique lingo of their own. Examples:
“Tis said in these waters th’ lap-dogs o’Vlaakith ha’ lost their mighty Captain of Captains, an’ ev’ry last one o’ the sods be adrift wi’out a rudder!”
“Aye. Now ev’ryone wants t’ be th' new Captain of Captains, and all go about placin’ th’ Black Spot on each other, an’ keelhaulin’ each other somethin’ fierce, an’ carryin’ on like there be no tomorrow.”
(Gith pirate commentary on the state of Githyanki politics.)
Or:
“A hater o’ the sodding Squid may call ‘imself me mate, an’ I would be honored to board their decks an’ strike their sails in ‘is company.”
(An offer of alliance.)
“Belay that, an’ ‘andsomely, a whole tribe o’ th’ bilge-lovers be headin’ this way.”
(One pirate tells another to shut up, as a large number of Athasian gith are headed in their direction.)
Gith o’ Fortune: A Gith pirate. What Gith pirates call themselves.
Lap-dogs o’Vlaakith: (Orthodox) Githyanki. Extremely derogatory. Generally, these are considered fighting words.
Them what sail th’Astral Seas: Githyanki. Poetic or complimentary.
Astral Reavers: Githyanki. Neutral.
(Gith pirates may also call them 'Githyanki' when they feel like it; they just tend toward even more flamboyant language than Githyanki do.)
Captain of Captains: A mighty leader. Gith pirates may use this term to refer to either the Githyanki lich-queen or the wizard-king of the Githzerai, as well as to various leaders of their own.
Squire: Githyanki knight. Derogatory.
Blaggard: Githyanki knight. (Corruption of ‘blackguard.’)
Bilge-lovers: Athasian gith, so called for their obsession with water.
Bilge-suckers: Even more derogatory term for Athasian gith.
Squid: Illithid, of course.
A free child o’Gith: Any Githyanki who has rejected the Lich-Queen, i.e., a renegade and/or heretic. Generally more respected than other Githyanki.
The usual ‘leader’ of a band of Gith pirates is a captain – the literal word is ‘kith’rak,’ as with the githyanki, but the meaning is somewhat different. Gith pirates take orders from him, but a Gith pirate captain must tread carefully, as Gith pirates aren’t afraid to mutiny if they decide they don’t like their leader. A “captain of captains” is an unusually charismatic and effective leader who has other captains agreeing to follow him. A gith pirate captain is usually more autonomous than a githyanki kith’rak (the latter answers to a supreme leader, the knights, and the Queen).