Mongrel Ghiscari

For the original language of the Ghiscari, see Old Ghiscari.

Mongrel Ghiscari and the mongrel tongue are how some Westerosi refer to the bastard Valyrian spoken by the Ghiscari people of Slaver's Bay and Ghiscar. The tongues are High Valyrian influenced by Old Ghiscari.

Origin

The Old Empire of Ghis was conquered by the Valyrian Freehold five thousand years ago, and the Ghiscari have since spoken High Valyrian. The Slaver's Bay cities of Yunkai, Meereen, and Astapor now have their own versions of bastard Valyrian, which have been strongly influenced by Old Ghiscari, the ancient language of Old Ghis. Like the Free Cities, the people of the Slaver Cities use glyphs to write Valyrian.

Dialects

Astapori Valyrian is described as having the "characteristic growl" of Ghis. The dialect of Yunkai is close enough to that of Astapor to be mutually intelligible. Meereenese has the speaker roll zzzs.

Quotes

The gods of Ghis were dead, and so too its people; these Astapori were mongrels, Ser Jorah said. Even the Ghiscari tongue was largely forgotten; the slave cities spoke the High Valyrian of their conquerors, or what they had made of it.

—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen

Kedry had been fluent in the tongues of all of the Free Cities, and even the mongrel Ghiscari that men spoke along the shores of Slaver's Bay.

—thoughts of Quentyn Martell

You need a bee up your nose to speak Ghiscari properly.

—Tyrion Lannister to Haldon Halfmaester

A gruff voice answered through the door, growling something unintelligible in the mongrel tongue of Slaver's Bay, an ugly blend of Old Ghiscari and High Valyrian.

—thoughts of Quentyn Martell

References

[fr:Ghiscari abâtardi]