Qualith 101
The first line of a Qualith 'sentence' identifies the actors (subjects and objects). The order of the actors is based on social rank (i.e., 'ulitharid' always appears before 'illithid,' and 'master' always appears before 'thrall') and on the importance of the actor in the mind of the speaker. The first line will almost always include some variant of "illithid," "ulitharid," "elder brain," "master," or occasionally "alhoon." If a sentence involves two illithid of the same rank, the speaker will appear before the other illithid.
A gith (-yanki, -zerai, pirate, anything descended from Gith/Zerthimon really) is rendered as rabid-thrall in Qualith. One of the more common terms for "githyanki" is something like "rabid-thrall-commanded-by-rabid-loathsome-inedible-thing-overseer," i.e., giths commanded by the Revered Queen. ("Loathsome-inedible-thing" is their uniquely descriptive term for undead.) Rarely, a non-gith who is a dedicated/famous illithid slayer may get the "rabid-thrall" designation. "Rabid-thrall-pack" describes a group of giths, especially one that is actively hunting illithid (rrakkma bands). An individual high-ranking gith may be described as a rabid-thrall-overseer.
The appearance of "unknown" in the first line of a Qualith sentence usually indicates a question.
The second line describes what is happening, what has happened, or something that is desired (verbs). The order of the verbs often depends on their importance to the speaker or how emotionally charged they are.
The third line of a Qualith sentence describes the relationship between the living (animate?) actors and is also the closest equivalent to a "verb tense." Qualith does not convey a sense of linear time, but does convey a sense of relevance, priority, and urgency. The third line will also usually contain either [occurring once], [occurring many times],[occurring many times in a predictable pattern], [occurring many times, unpredictably] or [occurring always].
The fourth line conveys the emotional/mental state of the speaker. The order is determined by considerations of social rank ('deference' will appear early in sentences involving high-ranking illithidae/Elder Brains) and by the importance of the emotions to the speaker.
Try the following:
Line 1: [Higher-ranking illithid][group of illithid][very large rabid-thrall-pack][sapphire gem][rabid-thralls-commanded-by-rabid-loathsome-inedible-thing-overseer][physical weapons]
Line 2: [kill and feed][to work in unity][to belong to a rabid-thrall-pack]
Line 3: [group of illithid reporting to a higher-ranking illithid][high relevance, not urgent][occurring once][occurring many times][occurring always]
Line 4: [appropriate deference][desire to convey information][pleasure from recent feeding][victory][superiority over disobedient thralls]
A rough translation of this sentence is "The githyanki warriors we slew were members of the Band of Sapphire."
The first line indicates that the speaker is a member of a group of illithids, who are reporting to an illithid of higher rank (see "appropriate deference" and "desire to convey information" in line 4). The verb "to work in unity" applies to the illithid speaker (working with his illithid allies). The beginning of line 2 could theoretically contain [to speak telepathically] (i.e., the speaker is communicating telepathically with a mind flayer of higher rank), but this is virtually always omitted, as it is assumed. By contrast, [to communicate using verbal speech] or [to communicate via tentacle movements] is usually explicitly stated.
[Occurring once] indicates that the githyanki can only be de-brained once each, [occurring many times] refers to this group of illithid working as a cohesive group, and [occurring always] modifies "belonging to a particular warband." [Occurring always] usually modifies verbs of the "to be" variety. While the strongest emotion being experienced by the speaker is probably "pleasure from recent feeding," "appropriate deference" and "desire to convey information" precede it because the illithid is speaking to someone of higher rank. It is notable that a Qualith sentence containing "rabid-thrall-pack" or, especially, any reference to undead usually includes some variant of "fear" in line 4, but this sentence does not: the speaker is projecting a great deal of confidence.