Jethra

Jethra (demonym: Jethrac) is the primary language -- and dominant ethnic culture -- of the Lithkind race.

It is used within the Sha Elden Lith Kindriu, in Gzirr!k'l Sector.

Lith Kindriu a-Izyme is the actual Jethrac name for the race, translated as "living beings with eternal souls born of our world". "Lithkind" is an Anglic corruption of a Hiver translation of this. Lith Adriu i-Sha ("beings with souls from other stars") refers to other intelligent races.

Grammar

Prepositions take the form of vowel-based prefixes:

• a-: of
• i-: from

Plurals can be formed in different ways. Many mundane nouns carry an -en suffix, while superstitiously charged words often form a plural using an -iu suffix.

Lexicon

• Adriu i-Shaka: "Concerning souls from the other stars"; SELK Adriu i-Shaka is the government office of foreign affairs.

• Adriu: "Souls"

• Ariseth: A blood feud

• Beth'Tchar: "Walker in Starlight"

• Eld: Literally "dwellers in the life tree". Plural, Elden. A Lithkind clan.

• Hriu: Ghosts, spirits that can supposedly be called up and bound to give a magician advice or attack his foes

• Iristi: "Wise". One who is supposedly skilled in magic

• Iz: A type of common tree in which the Lithkind live

• Izyme: The world, derived from Iz; the collection of Iz trees, the forest.

• Kindriu: "Eternal souls"

• Lith: "Beings", "Peoples"

• Ozelda: "Tree-guardian"; those who dwell in the life tree and protect it. A clan leader.

• Sha Elden Lith Kindriu: The Interstellar Families of Peoples, literally "Other stars, families of living beings with eternal souls". The Lithkind interstellar government.

• Sha: "Other stars"; modern term for all stars other than Izyme's sun.

• Vakari: Mark, production batch; e.g. Vakari-5 (fifth in its class)

• Xyastra: A complex astrological and necromantic system, in which sympathetic magic is supposedly used to alter probability

• Zrang: Sticks used for fortune-telling

Selected Proper Nouns

• Adith
• Beth'Tchar
• Cythrac
• Dazak
• Dazkat
• Dek Lek
• Dendinah
• Din Rash
• Dyzlast
• Filazah
• I-Dek
• Ileet
• Izyme
• Janerj (Janerj Diadem)
• Jindash
• Jithrast
• Kemyze
• Kenlish
• Ketharah
• Kyzah
• Lashrin
• Lemest
• Lishyn
• Odak-Kest
• Oram-Jith
• Ozlish
• Pashec-Daz
• Pezial
• Pindash
• Quilak
• Racyze
• Rakiu
• Raslest (Raslest Diadem)
• Resyme
• Rishial
• Shimjan
• Shyneth (Shyneth Diadem)
• Trishkat
• Wakash
• Wesha
• Xyith (Xyith Diadem)
• Yezial
• Zast-Dan
• Zathrim
• Zinarak

Note that "Diadem" is the Lithkind term for an asteroid ring; systems so designated have asteroidal mainworlds.

Trivia

Jethra has coincidental similarities to Savezitoiah, the ancestral and half-forgotten Girug'kagh language. Girug'kagh find it easy to learn.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Dave Nilsen, David L. Pulver, Andy Slack, David Thomas. Alien Races 3 (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), 132-142.