Galactic Basic Standard
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Galactic Basic Standard (or Galactic Basic, Galactic Standard, Galaxy Standard or just Basic) was the most prevalent and most used language in the galaxy.
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[edit] Evolution
Old Galactic Standard started as a slang or jargon of traders and spacers, based on a mix of early Human languages, Durese, and Bothese. Because of its popularity with members of those professions its popularity and acceptance spread. Old Galactic Standard was later further influenced by Dromnyr, resulting ultimately in the standard Basic.
Under the Galactic Empire, a version of the language was known as Imperial Basic. The language was adopted by the Rebel Alliance, and as such was spoken in the Alliance of Free Planets, the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant, the Galactic Alliance, and the Fel, Sith and True Empires.
[edit] Usage
Most sentient species that made galactic contact could and did speak Basic in addition to whatever native or regional language they might have used on a daily basis. Some beings normally did not possess the organs necessary to speak Basic, including Polis Massans, Ssi-Ruuk, P'w'ecks, Wookiees, and a number of insectoid races. Most Gamorreans could not speak Basic, though there were exceptions (such as Governor Kugg.) Whether or not a being could speak Basic, it was usually in their best interest to comprehend it, and most did.
The Towanis taught the Ewoks a mysterious and undocumented language, which didn't help them understand Leia Organa, and later, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, who spoke Basic. The relation of that language to Basic is not known.
High Galactic was a dialect (perhaps a vocabulary of alternative words) intended for displaying reverence and honor to religious figures. Its connection to Basic is unknown.
Basic used the Aurebesh script.
[edit] Known accents and dialects
Various cultures created different accents around the galaxy, each with their own unique set of pronunciations.
- Barabel accents—as exemplified by Saba Sebatyne.
- Cathar accents—as exemplified by Juhani.
- Corellian accent—exemplified by Han Solo and Wedge Antilles. It is distinct enough so that a Corellian can instantly recognize another Corellian's speech.
- Concord Dawn inflection—as exemplified by members of the Fett family. This is the most common accent among Mandalorians, perhaps due to the influence of their native language, Mando'a.
- Coruscanti accent—as exemplified by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine, Dooku, etc. Most inhabitants of the Core Worlds, such as Mon Mothma, also spoke in this manner, whereas those from farther reaches did not, such as Padmé Amidala (Naboo) Luke Skywalker (Tatooine), and Leia Organa (Alderaan), although in several instances, both Amidala and Organa speak with a slight Coruscanti inflection when speaking to Nute Gunray and Tarkin respectively. It was suggested that this was their "court" voice to adopt an imperious air or bluff, since they lose this accent when in casual or stressed situations.
- High Coruscanti—a more refined style of the Coruscanti accent. It was very posh and clipped and conveyed as sense of upper-class sensibility.[1]
- Eriaduan accent—as exemplified by Grand Moff Tarkin. It may simply be an artifact of the heavy influence of Coruscant, or "standard" language throughout the Core Worlds, and by implication, the elite of society, since the colonies and outer rim speak differently.
- Gungan dialect—as exemplified by Jar Jar Binks and Roos Tarpals.
- Kaleesh accents—as exemplified by Grievous.
- Neimoidian accent—exemplified by Nute Gunray and Rune Haako.
- Yoda's dialect—an unusual form of Basic utilized by Jedi Grand Master Yoda and others of his tridactyl species, including Yaddle; it is characterized by an object-subject-verb format. However, another member of this species, Vandar Tokare, did not use this dialect.
- Chiss Accent; as exemplified by Red-Eye Baldarek on Nar Shaddaa .
- Towani family dialect; this they taught to the Ewoks when they crashed on Endor. However it was not enough for those creatures to understand proper Basic a year later, when they met Princess Leia, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the rest of the rebels.
Of interesting note, the Wookiee Ralrracheen spoke with a speech impediment. Due to the differences in the vocal abilities of Ralrra, his dialect was perfectly understandable by non Wookiees, and it was further suggested that some Wookiees with this condition could speak Basic, at the loss of all forms of Wookieespeak. Basic-speaking Rodians tended to suffer from speech impediments as well, most notably a lisp. Avaro Sookcool and Teeloo were two such Rodians; the syllables R, L, and S proved to be the most problematic to vocalize. [2][3][4]
[edit] Behind the scenes
- In both the films and books, Basic is, with the exception of some—still, English-based—words and phrases devised by authors, the same as English. This could mean two things: Either Galactic Basic actually is the same as the English language used today on Earth, or it is translated as English in a manner similar to Westron in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Languages of the Star Wars universe like Ewokese in the animated series and the language spoken by the Towanis in Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor have been translated to English in this manner.
- Dialects in English correspond to different in-universe accents in the movies. Ewan McGregor's and Ian McDiarmid's faint upper-class Scottish accents are, for example, Coruscanti accents in the movies. As a general rule, Imperial characters have English accents while Rebels usually have American accents. However, it would seem that this is perhaps a representation of social class, as stormtroopers and other low-ranking Imperials are heard to speak with American accents, and some Rebels in English accents (Mon Mothma, for instance). Other accents are also heard, such as:
- Jamaican (Gungan Basic),
- Irish (Emon Azzameen, Fenn Shysa, an unnamed Czerka officer outside Anchorhead in KOTOR),
- Scottish (Wedge Antilles)
- Asian (Neimoidian),
- New York/Brooklyn, the Chiss Bartender in Jedi Knight 2 Outcast and presumably other Chiss (Grand Admiral Thrawn)
- Australian (Owen and Beru, Episode II, as well as some Mandalorians in KOTOR II),
- New Zealand (The Fett family),
- Ukrainian (Grievous), or Russian (Juhani and Queen Talia).
- In translations to non-English languages, Basic is assumed to be English but translated to the other language.
- In E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, which possibly shares its continuity with the Star Wars saga, a character mentions that she needs help with her "basic". However, in the context of the book, "basic" is most likely a reference to the computer programming language known by that name.
[edit] Original etymology
- See also: List of phrases and slang
Star Wars authors have coined original English-like words derived from real English elements but which don't exist in the English language; they seem useful to a space-driven civilization of the Star Wars characters, but totally useless for our daily language. Such words are 'speciesism' (equivalent to racism, but against sentient beings other than the speakers), 'gentlebeing' (equivalent to gentleman, but applicable to all species, including non-humanoid ones), 'offworlder', 'bird' (slang for spaceship, cf. how US Navy slang calls 'torpedo' as 'fish'), 'hyperspace', 'homeworld', 'spacer', 'sentientologist', 'youngling' (young + suffix -ling meaning 'person') and other technology terms like blaster, midi-chlorian, droid (from android), durasteel, astrogation etc.
However, Basic vocabulary includes some totally original, of unexplainable etymology, words also unrelated to English, like Moff, Jedi, Padawan, Darth etc. or even compounds like Twi'lek ("twin lekku"). It is possible that such words are derived from other languages.
[edit] Notes
- Basic is usually written from left to right; however, it can also be written from top to bottom (as seen in Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World, in the Massassi inscriptions.)
[edit] Appearances
Where Basic is mentioned explicitly:
- Knights of the Old Republic
- Outbound Flight
- Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
- Before the Storm
- Dark Force Rising
[edit] Sources
Oakie Dokes in the Databank
Tyrnia Masak: Pit Fighter on Wizards.com (article)
[edit] External links
- "Text & Graphics: An examination of written forms of language used in the Palpatine Era" by Curtis Saxton
