“May the 4th be with you…”
Today we celebrate all things Star Wars. May has always been important to Star Wars fans – most notably because the first six films were all released in cinemas in May, plus the month also happens to be George Lucas’ birthday.
May the 4th (Star Wars Day) kicks off a season of Galactic celebrations. We’re rejoicing today by briefly going over some of the notable languages that appear in the Star Wars franchise.
Binary
Binary, or Droidspeak, is made up of beeps and whistles. The language is “spoken” by droids such as R2-D2 and BB-8. In an early draft of the Star Wars script, R2-D2 speaks standard English.
Ewokese
Ewokese is the language of the Ewok, hunter-gatherers resembling teddy bears that inhabit the moon of the planet Endor. The language is inspired by a combination of Tibetan and Nepalese.
High Galactic
High Galactic is an esteemed language, most commonly used among Imperial courtiers.
Huttese
Huttese, spoken by criminals in the sections of the galaxy where the Hutt – huge slug-like creatures that had a thick body with a long muscular tail with small arms – criminal network is most powerful.
Jawaese
Jawaese is the language of the Jawa species, natives of the planet Tatooine. They use sandcrawlers as mobile bases for scavenging as well as for protection from Tusken Raiders and sand storms.
Olys Corellisi
Olys Corellisi, or Old Corellian has been extinct since around 4000 BBY. It was spoken by the original settlers of Corellia, capital planet of the Corellian system.
Shyriiwook
Shyriiwook is the main language of the Wookiees and often cited as one of the most emotive of Wookiee tongues. The language consists of growling and howls, this makes it difficult for anyone not a Wookiee to speak or learn – although Han Solo has a firm grasp of the language thanks to his close relationship with Chewbacca.
Sith
Originally the native language of the people of Ziost and Korriban, Sith, or the Sith language was adopted as the mystical language of the Sith Order after the Dark Jedi Exiles enslaved the Sith species.
Star Wars Day facts
- The phrase was first coined on 4 May 1979 by the London Evening News when they congratulated UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher on her inauguration by printing the headline “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie.”
- In 2001, the Toronto Underground Cinema hosted the very first organised Star Wars Day celebration. The day consisted of quizzes and a costume contest with celebrity judges.
- In 2015 astronauts on the International Space Station celebrated Star Wars Day by watching Star Wars.