Thari: The Language of Amber

Zelazny wrote that the language spoken in Amber is called "Thari." Thari is the universal
language of the Amber universe. It evolved from the demonic language, U'thar, and was altered
over time to the tongue spoken by the Lords and Ladies of Chaos. U'thar is now called "Olde
Thari" while the Court of Chaos mostly speaks "High Thari." which swims in anachronistic terms
like “Thee” and “Thou.” Amber uses a more coloquial and less formal version of Thari as does the
majority of shadow. The Courts call this "Low Thari," while everyone else just calls it “Thari.”
In most shadow universes you can understand the inhabitants, and they, you, even if the
accent or patois is different from place to place. In the rare/ alien places that don't speak Thari, a
simple adjustment to the shadow by a Pattern user will alter the universe to accommodate
communication, or a translation spell created by a sorcerer, or even a simple psychic contact can
convey meanings.
In real life,“Thari” is likely a reference to the secret language of the Irish Travellers (i.e.
local Irish migrants), known sometimes as "Shelta Thari". The word Shelta first appeared in 1882 in
the book 'The Gypsies' by 'gypsiologist' Charles Leland, who claimed to have discovered it as the
'fifth Celtic tongue.' Leland and others since (including George Sampson and Basil Ivan Rakoczi)
have asserted that it is of ancient origin. The ancient druids were known to have spoken a secret
language -- thus some conjecture was that the secret language of the druids was adopted by other
travelling folk to conceal their speech. The mythology of Amber is syncretic fantasy, but often
draws on Celtic roots -- thus he chose this as the universal mother tongue.
In reality, it seems that Shelta is a cant based on Irish and English, with a primarily English-
based syntax. Shelta's vocabulary is based largely on Irish, with many words inverted in a style not
unlike French verlan slang; for example, the word for 'girl' is lackeen, from the Irish cailin, and the
word rodas, meaning door, has its roots in the Irish doras.