More often than not, I notice that Wookieepedians make punctuation mistakes, some of them are common ones, some of them derive from differences between variants/dialects of English, and a few of them are the most extreme ones. Fortunately, I encounter common punctuation mistakes more often than serious ones.

This little guide is written for the simple goal to provide its readers a rough outline of English punctuation, mentioning sporadic differences between American and British English. I will indicate when the two dialects differ. Please understand that Wookieepedia articles should be written in American English.

Contents 1 Spelling 1.1 Star Wars misspellings 1.2 Other typical spelling mistakes 1.3 The word "pronounce" and its variants 1.4 Most important British and American spelling differences 2 Punctuation 2.1 The possessive S 2.2 Commas 2.2.1 Enumeration 2.2.2 However 2.3 Hyphen 2.4 Colon 2.5 Semicolon 2.6 Quotations 2.6.1 Direct quotations 2.6.2 Incomplete quotes 2.6.3 Quotation inside a quotation 2.7 Capitalization 2.7.1 What should be in capitals 2.7.2 What should not be in capitals 2.7.3 Some inconsistencies in Star Wars 2.8 Italics 3 Grammar 3.1 Plural forms 3.2 Ship names and the definite article 3.3 Gender

SpellingEdit

This section covers the most essential spelling instructions for the Star Wars universe and English. For a more complete and detailed list, please see List of common misspellings

Since Star Wars, a science fiction by nature, can come up with the most impossible and inpronouncable names, learning the correct list of letters, especially vowels is hard task, even for those who read a lot of Star Wars material. As mentioned above, this page will deal with the most common spelling mistakes, highlighting them from the much longer list. This list only gives you the correct spelling, unlike the complete and offical Wookieepedia common misspellings list.

Star Wars misspellingsEdit

• Anakin Skywalker (it is more often misspelled than any other names in Star Wars, most likely because pronunciation and correct spelling differ a bit.)
• General Grievous (notice the verb "grief" in his name.)
• Sidious
• Plagueis (notice the word plague in his name. Put the third person singular be after his name and merge the two words plague is into plagueis and capitalize.)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi, not Obi-wan Kenobi. Separating with a hyphen makes two separate words. The same rule is true for all names which have a hyphen in them. Most popular names are Qui-Gon Jinn, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Pablo-Jill or Echuu Shen-Jon.

For some more info on hyphen, see the punctuation part.

• Lightsaber Often spelled as lightsabre, light sabre or light saber. This word is a compound, the ending being -er. I wrote an entire section about it in its article. Most of it was removed by other members. The spelling "lightsaber" is not only used for consistency, but it IS the only correct way of spelling the word, as it is an entirely new word created in the United States during filming. The same happened in the case of the word program. In British English, the spelling programme is correct in all senses of the word but in its computer-related sense, it must be program under any circumstances, no matter what dialect we are speaking about. The archived version of my lightsaber spelling section is as follows:

Saber, in the meaning of a sword has two ways of spelling: saber and sabre. Saber is used in the United States and sabre is used in Commonwealth English. Theoretically, both ways of spelling should be correct, and they are, but not in the case of lightsaber. Lightsaber is a proper name and thus should be spelt exactly as the authors do. Another reason is that Star Wars is in most part, American, so George Lucas or whoever came up with the lightsaber idea used the lightsaber spelling which created a new term that had not existed previously. This linguistic procedure is called Americanism. Even though lightsabre is incorrect, the spelling as sabre in any other Star Wars reference is correct—based on Commonwealth spelling.

Luke lost his lightsaber on Bespin (correct)

Luke lost his sabre on Bespin (correct, Commonwealth English)

Luke lost his lightsabre on Bespin (incorrect)

Luke lost his saber on Bespin (correct, American English)

Other typical spelling mistakesEdit

• Separatists (if you know how to spell the verb to separate, all you need to learn is that the -ist suffix removes the last e).
• Task force is usually spelled as taskforce in LucasArts games.
• Hangar often spelled as Hanger. This is caused by people thinking that the verb "hang" and the suffix "-er" constitutes the word.

The word "pronounce" and its variantsEdit

Many mistake the spelling of the word pronunciation to pronounciation. The sooner version is the correct one. All other words that are the variants of the verb pronounce must have the o before the u and after the n. Such words are: pronouncement, pronounces, or pronounced as.

Most important British and American spelling differencesEdit

For more details, see the wikipedia article dedicated to all the differences

I am going to list some common examples that I most often correct on Wookieepedia. The British English version is first and the American version is after the arrow.

• favour, colour, behaviour --> favor, color, behavior
• grey --> gray (grey is also acceptable in the US, but for consistency within Wookieepedia, we should use gray).
• armour --> armor (same category as #1, but putting it in a separate place to highlight it).
• travelled, travelling --> traveled, traveling
• metre, centre --> meter, center
• organise, analyse, colonise --> organize, analyze, colonize

PunctuationEdit

I found time to spelling, but here comes the main purpose of making this page. Hope it will be useful.

The possessive SEdit

This kind of mistake is the main reason I wrote an entire article about punctuation. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most common punctuation mistake in the English language. The problem derives from the point when you learn that if a plural form of a noun ends in an s, then you only need to put an apostrophe after it to reach the possessive form. It is easily to memorize, but most teachers do not call your attention to singular nouns ending in an s. When you have a singular noun ending in an -s, you must use the apostrophe + s to get its possessive form. This means that names like Sidious, Grievous, or Plagueis becomes Sidious's, Grievous's, or Plagueis's. The "s + apostrophe" ending is the only correct one if the pronunciations of the proper noun and the possessive form are the same. So far, I don't know any examples in Star Wars for this.

Please also note that some, however, not many mistake the apostrophe + s to the simple plural form of any countable nouns, making phrases such as two cup's of tea or stormtrooper's shoot inaccurately. However, there are cases when the apostrophe + s are used as plurals

roll your r's, I'm proud of myself; I got a lot of 5's in class.

CommasEdit

I am only going to point out a number of punctuation mistakes I often encounter or simply find handy to mention.

EnumerationEdit

The following is going to cover punctuation that differs in British and American English.

In enumerative phrases, you have elements, more usually single words, separated with commas. In British English, you get a list of elements, each separated with commas, but the hyphen behind the "and" misses.

We bought some milk, bread, beer and bacon.

This does not work in such a way in American English, where the comma must be put behind the "and":

We bought some milk, bread, beer, and bacon.

In both sentences, the "and" could be changed to "or", which does not make any changes in punctuation.

HoweverEdit

You have to surround "however" with commas, putting a comma before and after it if the however is in the comparison sense.

Palpatine, however, wished to seduce Skywalker to replace his father

This is the most common use of however, but there are other cases in which however does not require a comma.

• Followed by an adjective, in the sense of putting stress on the adjective.
  • However hard you are trying it, you'll fail
  • However fast your speeder is, you're not going to win the race
• Surprised question (chiefly British English)
  • However did you manage to convince him?
• However as a conjuction (more common in British English)
  • However you look at it, it's still a mess

HyphenEdit

There is a separate page for using the n dash (–) and the m dash (—). This section covers something else.

You must use a hyphen between two words if the two words together form an adjectival structure. So the six hundred meter long warship must be written as the six hundred meter-long warship. Beware that the sentence the Dreadnaught was six hundred meters-long is incorrect, because the meters long is not an adjective here.

Note that meter is US spelling for metre.

Some other examples are Jedi-led, warn-torn, fully-fledged, wedge-shaped, and red-haired.

Note that in the above examples, the second words are always in the past participle form (what many ESL students know as the "third form" of a verb).

ColonEdit

Colons are usually used before starting a list: Four Jedi Masters traveled to arrest Chancellor Palpatine: Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, and Kit Fisto.

Also used before a clause that introduces more information. After 0 ABY, Leia Organa Solo could not return to her home world: it had been destroyed.

SemicolonEdit

Primarily used to connect two clauses that could be two separate sentences, but in a way, context demands they be in a single sentence. Conjuctions are not used here. The heroes parted way; they never saw each other again. With conjuction, it would sound: The heroes parted way and they never saw each other again.

Semicolons are also used to separate clauses of enumeration: She was determined to succeed; achieving her aims by bargaining, threatening, or bribing.

QuotationsEdit

Not much to be said here, the use of quotation marks is often liberate, especially in the case of different media. Put all the punctuation differences between American and British English and you will end up with a complete mess.

For consistency, American English uses double quotation marks (" ") instead of the British single (' ') quotation marks. Note that (' ') are not strictly limited to British English in general, only in direct quotations. For consistency, I suggest people always use double quotation marks (" ").

Direct quotationsEdit

'And now, young Skywalker, you will die' , said Palpatine. (British English)

However, in Wookieepedia, the double quotation marks should be used.

"And now, young Skywalker, you will die," said Palpatine. (American English)

Also note the position of the comma. In quotations, placing the punctuation marks is often liberate. Putting the punctuation mark outside the quotation mark is chiefly British English, putting it inside is more common in the US. However, it differs. For consistency, I suggest people use punctuation marks inside the quotation, for simplicity and consistency.

Incomplete quotesEdit

If you want to take out only different parts of a long quotation, you do not have to quote the entire quotation, boldening or underlining the parts that are important. Instead, remove the unnecessary parts and insert a "[...]" instead of it. This is only an issue if the part you remove if between the two parts you need. At Wookieepedia, we have Declaration of a New Order with the complete text of Palpatine's speech. However, if you wish to highlight what is actually heard in the movie, you should use the "[...]":

"The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. [...] In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society."

Quotation inside a quotationEdit

Does not happen often, but it is easy:

If you have a quotation and there is another quotation inside it, it should be as follows:

CapitalizationEdit

What should be in capitalsEdit

Fortunately, capitalization is more consistent than other areas of punctuation. You must always capitalize:

• Proper nouns
  • Names (Anakin, Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca)
  • Organization names (Jedi Order, Jedi Council, Galactic Empire, Alliance to Restore the New Republic). note that prepositions and grammatical articles are not capitalized
  • Species names (Trandoshan, Rodian, Wookiee, Aqualish) However, creature names should not be capitalized normally: rancor, dewback etc. Wookieepedia has set up a policy that the word "human" should always be capitalized, so we must have "Luke Skywalker was a Human Jedi [...]" Note that this is only a Wookieepedia policy; normally, it should not be capitalized. "He's so ugly he doesn't look human to me."
  • Geographical names (Dune Sea, Beggar's Canyon)
  • Planets, sectors, asteroid field, comet names
  • The Force (the definite "the" should not be capitalized normally, only when in the beginning of the sentence.)
  • Jedi and Sith (metonymically used to refer to "a member of the Jedi Order" or the "member of the Sith Order," respectively)
  • Rebel and Imperial in the sense of "relating to the Rebel Alliance" and "relating to the Galactic Empire," respectively.
  • Notable event names (Battle of Yavin, Great Schism, Blockade of Kashyyyk, Padawan Massacres of Taris)
  • Titles (the Mission to Mustafar article is a good one, Darth Sidious: Autobiography of an Old Sith Lord Who Seduced a Man Named Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force) Please note that the sooner example is out-of-universe and the latter example does not exist, it only serves as an example. Note that prepositions and articles are not capitalized. Wookieepedia has had a policy that says that our article names do not have to be full-capital, only when capitalization is needed.
• Ranks and titles when used before a name (Count Dooku, Senator Organa, Master Yoda) and Padawan (always, "Obi-Wan Kenobi slew Darth Maul as a Padawan learner")
• Acronyms: TIE, NJO (New Jedi Order)

What should not be in capitalsEdit

• Game and sport names, gambling terms: sabacc, pazaak, podracing. See Wikipedia's article about poker for confirmation
• Titles when used without a name, or a reference.

A general is a leader who controls a lot of military units.

The evacuation of Hoth was realized by General Rieekan.

The General did everything to flee as many people as he could. Note the the "General in sentence #3 is a direct reference to Rieekan.

• Equipment names: blaster rifle, lightsaber, force field, thermal detonator, neural band, adrenaline amplifier, stealth field generator. Please note that this force field has nothing to do with the mystical energy field that Jedi and Sith use, so it is not to be capitalized.
• Creature names (do not confuse with species): rancor, dewback
• Sides of the Force: light side, dark side
• The word "system": the Yavin system
• Physical, chemical substance names: cortosis ore, phrik metal, durasteel
• Military units like battle droid, droideka, clone trooper, stormtrooper, dark trooper

Some inconsistencies in Star WarsEdit

(Some research is to be made in this field. The section will be expanded so soon this is completed)

• Force powers: Force Deflect or Force deflect?
  • Research results: Games seem to always capitalize Force powers, Wookieepedia has some in capitals, some aren't.
• TIE names: TIE Fighter or TIE fighter?
  • Research results: TIE class names should be in capitals, like TIE Fighter, TIE Bomber, or TIE Defender. Exception being the TIE/D automated starfighter or TIE shuttle. The reason is that, for example, the spelling "TIE fighter" suggests basically any TIE that classifies as a fighter-type, even the TIE Defender. "TIE bomber" suggests any TIE craft that is used as bombers, for bombardment, capital ship assault, anything. TIE Defenders, for example, can be used as bombers because they can be armed with proton torpedoes and bombard any target. The TIE shuttle, however, is the only TIE variant that is not designed for combat, but carrying personnel. There seems to be some flexibility in capitalization in this case, so these are not strict rules.
• Galaxy of galaxy?

ItalicsEdit

Note: Quotes in this section are not in italics, see last paragraph why.

Often used to put stress on words within articles.

• I am not selling death sticks to you.

Ship class names should be in italics. Observe the followings:

• The Interdictor-class Cruiser dropped us out of hyperspace
• An Interdictor has dropped out of hyperspace (notice that Interdictor is not in italics here)

Specific ship names should always be in italics:

• The SSD Executor was destroyed at the Battle of Endor
• The Raven's Claw was one of Kyle Katarn's ships
• Also: if a ship name has a number in it, the number should also be in italics: Tantive IV

Out-of-universe titles:

• Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Dark Forces

Interesting thing: If you have a text that it basically in italics, like quotations using the {{quote}} template, then what should normally be in italics should not be italics. The quotation at the beginning of our Millennium Falcon article is a good example of this:

GrammarEdit

Plural formsEdit

In Star Wars, some nouns do not have regular plurals, most notable Jedi or Sith. The singular and plural form of both Jedi and Sith are identical.

Nearly two hundred Jedi were present at the Battle of Geonosis.

Ship names and the definite articleEdit

There is an ongoing debate on Wookieepedia whether ship names should be used with the definite article or without it. Some research is to be made in this field.

The Executor was Darth Vader's flagship or Executor was Darth Vader's flagship

We have established that ship names should be used with the definite article if it helps the flow of the text:

The Millennium Falcon was Han Solo's ship.

GenderEdit

While in English, ship names are feminine (referred to as she), at Wookieepedia, they should be referred to as it or this.

• Executor was Darth Vader's flagship. She was destroyed during the Battle of Endor (Standard English)

• Executor was Darth Vader's flagship. It was destroyed during the Battle of Endor (Wookieepedia canon)

Planets are also referred to as "she", but Wookieepedia follows similar regulations as in the case of ship names:

• Tatooine was a desert world, people didn't like visiting it. (Wookieepedia canon)