Wookieepedia

READ MORE

Wookieepedia
Register
Advertisement
Wookieepedia
This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 
This article is about the language commonly known as Basic. You may be looking for the dance.

"In Basic, please?"
Garazeb Orrelios[8]

Galactic Basic Standard,[9] also known as Galactic Basic,[10] Basic,[1] or galactic standard,[11] was the name of the most prevalent language in the galaxy.[1] It was spoken by species including—but not limited to—humans,[2] Pantorans,[12] and Toydarians,[2] but not by Ithorians[13] or Talz.[12] The Gungans of Naboo spoke a heavily accented dialect of Basic, with many differences in grammar and vocabulary.[2] Diplodialect was a specific register of Basic used in the diplomatic circles of the Galactic Republic.[6]

Most stormtroopers, the elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire, could only speak and understand Basic, despite the commonness of other languages such as Huttese.[14] With vocal cords that were quite different from those of many other species, Wookiees and Ithorians were entirely unable to speak Basic, though they could learn to understand it.[15] Many Ithorians used translator collars to simulate speaking Basic.[16] Tasu Leech, leader of the Kanjiklub, was unwilling to speak Basic, which he dismissed as a "soft language for soft people."[17] Basic could be written in several forms, including Aurebesh, High Galactic,[3] and Outer Rim Basic.[4]

Accents[]

Basic could also be spoken with a variety of accents. Imperial officer Piers Roddance spoke in a clipped and cultured manner that student Zare Leonis knew was a Core Worlds accent, or at least an imitation of one. His fellow student Merei Spanjaf also spoke with a Core Worlds accent due to her upbringing on the planet Corulag.[18] The accents of individuals from other planets within the Core were also aristocratic, including the Chandrilan accent, as spoken by the droid R-K77,[19] the accent of pilot Nash Windrider of Alderaan,[20] the clipped tones of Armitage and Brendol Hux of Arkanis,[21] and the Coruscanti accent as spoken by Coruscant natives Pax Maripher[22] and Chassellon Stevis.[23]

Takeyourdaughtertoworkday

During her final conversation with Wilhuff Tarkin (left), Leia Organa (center) mocked the man's accent by imitating it.

The Coruscanti accent was that of the Imperial elite and their propaganda broadcasts, as well as Rebel satire. Imperial governor Everi Chalis, a human originally from an impoverished colonial backwater, had a natural accent that was higher in pitch, with a subtle drawl, stretched vowels, and less enunciation than Coruscanti, but adopted what Imperial Captain Tabor Seitaron considered an awful, over-enunciated, and exaggerated "schoolgirl" Coruscanti accent while in the service of the Empire.[24] Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, originally from the Outer Rim world Eriadu, and many senior Imperial officers spoke with an aristocratic accent, which Princess Leia Organa mockingly imitated during their final meeting.[25] The criminal Bala-Tik spoke with the clipped tones of the Core Worlds, but with a harsher edge.[26]

The accent of the Outer Rim world Serenno was aristocratic and similar[27] to those of Chandrila[19] and Coruscant.[22] The people of the Outer Rim planet Lothal typically spoke with an Outer Rim accent,[28] and Core Worlds accents were rarely heard there.[18] Lothal native Governor Arihnda Pryce naturally spoke with such an accent,[29] but like Chalis,[24] adopted an aristocratic accent while serving the Empire.[29] Professor Sahali of the Republic Special Weapons Group spoke with a heavy Outer Rim accent.[30]

DengarMocksTasu-BountyHunters-24

The pit fighter Tasu Leech spoke with a thick Nar Kanji accent.

Eli Vanto of the Wild Space world Lysatra spoke with a notable Wild Space accent that he was mocked for at the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant.[29] The accent of those native to the Outer Rim planet Pamarthe was thick and had the burr of it settle on the r's.[25] Pilot Norra Wexley spoke with a subtle Myrran accent from her homeworld[31] and Jedi Rael Averross spoke with a strong Ringo Vindan accent that he never lost while growing up on Coruscant.[22] The pit fighter Tasu Leech, who considered Basic a weak language for weak people[32] and instead spoke in Jablogian,[33] did at times use Basic in his younger years. His Basic came out with a thick Nar Kanji accent, which the bounty hunter Dengar mocked him for, calling it a "low-class accent."[34]

LangStub This article is a stub about a language. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Behind the scenes[]

Basic is the name given to the English language in the Star Wars saga, although in dubbed and translated versions of the series it will for all intents and purposes resemble those languages. As a result, Basic comes in as many accents as those of the actors in the films, television series and video games. For example, when she filmed the original Star Wars, Carrie Fisher spoke with Received Pronunciation during her first day of shooting (which was the scene where Leia confronts Wilhuff Tarkin). "I had a British accent," she explained. "Who could say those lines? 'I thought I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.' What? Say that like an American and I'll pay you."[35]

The book Bloodline identifies Tarkin's accent and that of other senior Imperial officers as aristocratic,[25] as such Wookieepedia treats all characters speaking with a Received Pronunciation British accent, as Tarkin does in A New Hope, as having an aristocratic accent.[36] The audiobooks of Aftermath: Empire's End and Battlefront: Twilight Company establishes that the Chandrilan accent and Coruscanti accent respectively are both also the aristocratic Received Pronunciation.[19][24] The real-world Scottish accent used by Bala-Tik in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens[37] is described as a Core Worlds accent with a harsher edge in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary.[26] Master & Apprentice describes Rael Aveross's real world southern American drawl as a Ringo Vindan accent.[22]

Appearances[]

Wiki-shrinkable This in-universe list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Aliens of the Galaxy
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
  3. 3.0 3.1 Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
  4. 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
  5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  6. 6.0 6.1 SWInsider "An Innocent Abroad" — Star Wars Insider 186
  7. Phasma
  8. Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Wings of the Master"
  9. Build the Millennium Falcon Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 63 (Guide to the Galaxy: Life on Rodia)
  10. Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
  11. Heir to the Jedi
  12. 12.0 12.1 StarWars Talz in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
  13. Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  14. Rise of the Rebels
  15. Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
  16. Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Empire Day"
  17. StarWars-DatabankII Tasu Leech in the Databank (backup link)
  18. 18.0 18.1 Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Aftermath: Empire's End audiobook
  20. Lost Stars
  21. Phasma audiobook
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Master & Apprentice
  23. Leia, Princess of Alderaan audiobook
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Battlefront: Twilight Company audiobook
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Bloodline
  26. 26.0 26.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
  27. Thrawn: Alliances audiobook
  28. Servants of the Empire: Rebel in the Ranks
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 Thrawn
  30. Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
  31. Resistance Reborn
  32. StarWars-DatabankII Tasu Leech in the Databank (backup link)
  33. Bounty Hunters 8
  34. Bounty Hunters 24
  35. Carrie Fisher explains in simple English why she speaks with a British accent in part of 'Star Wars' by Sacks, Ethan on New York Daily News (December 7, 2015) (archived from the original on December 25, 2018)
  36. Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
  37. Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
Advertisement