Hans Language Skills

[CaptainChewbacca]

I figure Han can probably speak Wookieese, but if it's anything like that book says, he'd look seriously idiotic speaking it. He's a smuggler, he's got an image to maintain!

More seriously, I figure he does know it-- enough to be able to translate Chewie's speech easily, and probably enough to read Wookiee script (if they have any writing system-- not too improbable, if you ask me). Since Chewbacca obviously understands Basic well, Han doesn't need to speak it, just understand it.

Han had a female wookiee as his caretaker when he worked for Garrish Shrike in his youth, ages 5-16 approximately. She talked to him, and he learned to understand her.

Question-- could Wookieese be Basic as spoken by Wookiees? Their vocal equipment is obviously different from humans'. There may also be regional variants of Basic, which coupled with the different sounds would explain the reason why it's classified as a different language.

Wookiees can't speak basic, they use their own language. Apparently, Leia has trouble understanding it because of some of the vocal subharmonics.

I know, wild idea, but it could explain how many characters in the EU can apparently understand Wookieese (ie, Dash Rendar, Lando, etc); all it would take would be some time with Wookiees, and getting used to the different sounds and dialect. Just an idea... it makes sense to me though.

If I understand german, and a german guy understands english, we can each speak our native languages and not have any trouble understanding each other. I think you are thinking too hard. Basic is called that for a reason, its an easy language to get, and its a widespread trade language.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Actually, it's not a trade language, but the standard language of the Republic/Empire.

[Galvatron]

Something interesting-- even though many species can't speak Basic, they understand it well enough to be able to carry out complex commands (for example, Nien Nunb in the Falcon's cockpit during ROTJ). This would indicate that it goes both ways...

Well, yeah, that's kinda what I was getting at. Basic, Huttese, etc. are apparently widely understood languages, but most of the species shown in the OT stuck to their own native languages when actually speaking.

It generated a nice sense of believable diversity for an ancient galactic society composed of millions of cultures.

Not to mention most of what we see in the PT is in the Core, and often relates to the Senate, which I would expect would involve more Basic being used.

Most? Naboo, Tatooine, and Kamino are all on the Outer Rim or beyond.

[Robert Treder]

Well, yeah, that's kinda what I was getting at. Basic, Huttese, etc. are apparently widely understood languages, but most of the species shown in the OT stuck to their own native languages when actually speaking.

It generated a nice sense of believable diversity for an ancient galactic society composed of millions of cultures.

Ok, ok, we get the picture...you think that the OT is way superior to the PT, and you'll find any excuse to try and justify that.

By the way, did you notice that none of the aliens in the PT used a language that they wouldn't realistically have used, just like in the OT? Funny thing.

[Stofsk]

Actually, it's not a trade language, but the standard language of the Republic/Empire.

KotOR does say it's the Republic's trade language. Perhaps it just grew and became more accepted over time, so that by the movie-era it was the standard language. But it was, at one point, a trade language.

[Robert Treder]

Not to mention most of what we see in the PT is in the Core, and often relates to the Senate, which I would expect would involve more Basic being used.

Most? Naboo, Tatooine, and Kamino are all on the Outer Rim or beyond.

Yeah, and Naboo is primarily inhabited by humans, so its species (including its secondary one) speak Basic. Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts, and guess what? All the non-humans speak Huttese. Taun We and Lama Su are the only Kaminoans we hear speak, and they're in the middle of a business deal with a human Jedi who most likely doesn't understand their language. Why wouldn't they speak Basic?

[Robert Treder]

Actually, it's not a trade language, but the standard language of the Republic/Empire.

KotOR does say it's the Republic's trade language. Perhaps it just grew and became more accepted over time, so that by the movie-era it was the standard language. But it was, at one point, a trade language.

What's stopping it from being a trade language and a government-official language? After all, English is here on Earth.

[Galvatron]

By the way, did you notice that none of the aliens in the PT used a language that they wouldn't realistically have used, just like in the OT? Funny thing.

Could you give an example? I'm not sure what you mean.

[Stofsk]

What's stopping it from being a trade language and a government-official language? After all, English is here on Earth.

Nothing at all. That's probably what ended up happening.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I believe it was the standard language first, though.

[Stofsk]

I believe it was the standard language first, though.

Ok whatever - all I was saying is that KotOR described basic as the Republic's trade language. It's probably both anyway.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Well, KOTOR isn't the oldest thing to happen in SW. Afterall, we have stuff that refers to things occuring thousands of years earlier, even to the formation of the Republic and earlier.

[Galvatron]

Yeah, and Naboo is primarily inhabited by humans, so its species (including its secondary one) speak Basic.

Didn't the Gungans deliberately avoid contact with the humans of Naboo?

Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts, and guess what? All the non-humans speak Huttese.

That would have been a great excuse to have the pod-race announcer speak Huttese instead of Basic.

Taun We and Lama Su are the only Kaminoans we hear speak, and they're in the middle of a business deal with a human Jedi who most likely doesn't understand their language. Why wouldn't they speak Basic?

Good point. Still, I'd have preferred they'd written in a protocol droid to translate for the Kaminoans to Obi-Wan.

To me, it's all about preference and not "it has to be my way because it won't work any other way."

[Isolder74]

THe Pod race announcer spoke both remember

[Robert Treder]

By the way, did you notice that none of the aliens in the PT used a language that they wouldn't realistically have used, just like in the OT? Funny thing.

Could you give an example? I'm not sure what you mean.

What I mean is that there're no aliens who speak in a language that they wouldn't logically speak, and therefore there's no reason to get all out of sorts about who speaks what in the PT. It makes sense for Sebulba to speak Huttese, Nute Gunray to speak Basic, etc.

Didn't the Gungans deliberately avoid contact with the humans of Naboo?

More or less, but as Obi-Wan describes (and as is explained in EU), the Gungans and the Naboo depend on each other, and their societies are more interconnected than either would like. Remember that the Gungans have been living with the Naboo for many thousands of years; it's not surprising that their native language has all but disappeared.

That would have been a great excuse to have the pod-race announcer speak Huttese instead of Basic.

Maybe you should watch the movie again. There's a reason the announcer has two heads...

[Tribun]

There are not few aliens in the PT who not speak Basic.
-Watto is bilingual (Basic and huttese).
-Sebulva speaks huttese.
-We see and hear Jawas ans Tusken.
-The aliens in the podrace all cursed in thier own languages.
-We can see, and maybe hear, cursing Wookies in EPI in the senate.
-The announcer that appeared as hologram on Palpatines work desk.
-The Gran that demands in Palpatine office the the clone army has to be used.
-All Geonosians with no exception speak no Basic. (But Dooku had no problem understanding them)
-The hovercar drivers on Coruscan which nearly smashed Obi-Wan to pieces.
-When Palpatine got through his "Ermächtigunsgesetz", we hear congratulation calls from several languages.

That quite a list.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

"Authorisation speech?"

[Ghost Rider]

The closest translation to him forming the Grand Army of the Republic.

[Trogdor]

Time tales states somewhere that Basic was deliberatly made in a way that most species could speak them. Given how long the Republic was around, it's not unrealistic for the aliens to see a human, whose native language in SW seems to be Basic, and use that instead of their own language.

The SW galaxy is a very bilingual place, with the human langauge being the second langauge to most aliens, it would seem. Since the main characters in the SW films are always human, it makes sense that we hear the aliens using it with them.

[Isolder74]

In the Case of han In the Courtship of Princess Liea, Han says Zsinj could curse in nearly sixty languages and the text implies that Han understood him do so. Now being able to spout obsenities does not mean one can speak a language but it somewhere to start.

[Shaidar Haran]

How is there a lot of them?

Look at all the Seperatists except the Nemodians. Look at Wat Trembor, especially.

This has hardly changed.

Neimoidians, Gungans, Kaminoans, Watto, and Dexter Jettster just off the top of my head. There were a lot of English speaking aliens in the prequels.

Yes, this is a big change.

Actually, having Basic speaking aliens in TPM and AotC makes a lot of contextual sense. In most of those cases the aliens in question were dealing with humans on a regular basis and indeed the Neomodians were traders for pete's sake! They'd need to know Basic as would Watto.

There's no really good for them to speak a different language and a lot of good reasons for them to speak Basic.

[Crazedwraith]

In the Case of han In the Courtship of Princess Liea, Han says Zsinj could curse in nearly sixty languages and the text implies that Han understood him do so. Now being able to spout obsenities does not mean one can speak a language but it somewhere to start.

Fact. Zsinj does this in Solo Command but then it implies he only stood a little of what zsinj was saying: the rodian.

[PainRack]

Wasn't there a study that said a human could comfortably learn up to 6 languages before being confused?

[Slartibartfast]

I'd say that most people in the SW galaxy learn to understand a lot of languages but never really bother to learn how to speak them.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Old Galactic Standard or something used to be the official language of the Galactic Republic, and was basically superceeded by the most versatile Basic, I suppose.

They still use it in their legalese--the Supreme Chancellor is (alternatively but not incorrectly) known as the President of the Senate in historical documents.