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On Polylingualism
Polylingualism is the phenomenon of multiple different languages being used concurrently with more or less equal
frequency. Given the enormous species diversity of the “galaxy far, far away” – “The Last One Standing: The Tale of
Boba Fett” mentions “over twenty million intelligent species” distributed among “four hundred billion stars” – it
should come as no surprise that there should be a vast number of languages and dialects in use; indeed, one species’
language may easily be thoroughly unpronounceable (or even incomprehensible) to another species, and it is quite
likely that some species may be mutually unintelligible. The tremendous diversity in the galaxy is a source of a number
of throwaway gags in the HoloNet News feature, such as in HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 47, which carried the
headline “Yarua to Tikkes: ‘Ruuarraararagh!’ See NEWS D 3,” or in Holonet News Vol. 531, No. 49, which included
the feature “Most Popular Baby Names,” which listed in descending order the names “Losibaru,” “Janara,” “Barada,”
“Gaeriel,” and “(Sharp keening at 85 cycles, followed by five atonal mandible clicks).”
The lingua franca of the “galaxy far, far away” is appropriately called Basic, which like any language can be further
subdivided into regional dialects and socially stratified patterns of speech (notably, the majority of Imperial officers are
heard to speak with the Received Pronunciation in the films, as opposed to the more rounded accents of the rebels);
Basic has apparently been in use for quite some time, as the original colonists who settled on Adumar were exiled from
the Galactic Republic circa 10,000 BrS, but their language was still “recognizably a dialect of Basic,” according to
General Airen Cracken, Director, New Republic Intelligence, in Starfighters of Adumar. It can be generally assumed
that most Star Wars dialogue and texts are (notionally) rendered in Basic, except when this is obviously not the case
(Chewbacca and Jabba Desilijic Tiure obviously speak Shyriiwook and Huttese, respectively, for example). Although
Basic is the language of government, commerce, and travel, other languages are used as well; the Galactic Phrase Book
& Travel Guide says that “so much business” is done in Huttese that a “basic knowledge” of the language is “essential,
especially for the executive and business traveler” (note that the Revised Core Rulebook attributes fluency in Huttese
to Palpatine of Naboo, a galactic statesman of some repute).
Galactic Standard (occasionally also seen as Galaxy Standard) is a somewhat older term first mentioned in “The
Crimson Forever!”, where Captain Han Solo is surprised that a priest in the extragalactic Red Nebula speaks it.
Galactic Standard is apparently older than Basic, as Arden Lyn, a dark side Follower of Palawa who was thought killed
circa 25,000 BrS, was said by “The Emperor’s Pawns” to speak “Old Galactic Standard” in addition to Basic and
Bunduki (Bunduki being the language of the Followers of Palawa). Indeed, Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide is
notionally written in Galactic Standard, not Basic. The exchange in “The Crimson Forever!” would seem to suggest
that Galactic Standard is merely another name for Basic, but the fact that Arden Lyn is explicitly said to speak both
Basic and Galactic Standard in “The Emperor’s Pawns” conclusively separates the two and forces us to reexamine Solo’
s conversation with the priest; apparently Solo’s entire conversation with Chewbacca was in Galactic Standard rather
than Basic (this is unsurprising, given that Solo is himself a polyglot, known to speak or understand Basic,
Shyriiwook, Huttese, and Togorian at the very least).
High Galactic is a somewhat more obscure language, first mentioned in “New Planets, New Perils!”, in which it was
explained that “pera is High Galactic for male parent; fi means male child” (this was subsequently referenced in “Who’
s Who: Imperial Grand Admirals,” when the religious fanatic Grand Admiral Peccati Syn’s personal flagship was
identified as HIMS Fi). In both cases, High Galactic is used as a sacred language, and the use of High Galactic
terminology has religious connotations. In “The Dark Forces Saga, Part 4: Of the Crudest Matter,” High Galactic is
identified with “the language of the earliest Jedi sages” from “Fight Saber: Jedi Lightsaber Combat,” thus reinforcing its
status as an ecclesiastical language by associating it with the monastic Jedi Order, an ascetic cult; notice that Syn was
under the influence of an agent of the Prophets of the Dark Side, a schismatic Sith sect (the Sith being themselves a
schismatic and heretical sect of the Jedi). Apparently, High Galactic has associations with the galactic upper class, as
courtier Sarcev Quest is said to be fluent in High Galactic in “The Emperor’s Pawns” (alternatively, it could be that
Quest learned High Galactic during his time with the Jedi Order prior to being ignominiously transferred to the
Agricultural Corps).
Polylingualism is useful because it provides a simple explanation for seeming contradictions in various sources. For
example, Cracken’s Threat Dossier identifies the presiding officer of the Imperial Senate as the President of the Senate,
whereas the scholars write in the Star Wars Encyclopedia that the presiding officer is the Chancellor of the Senate. This
parallels the more prominent example of the claim found in the First Saga of the Journal of the Whills, quoted in Star
Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, that Palpatine of Naboo was elected “President of the Republic” in 3
rS, a title used by the succeeding Expanded Universe sources until the release of The Phantom Menace, in which it was
authoritatively established that Palpatine of Naboo was elected “Supreme Chancellor of the Republic” (here one sees
the similarity to the presidency/chancellery of the Imperial Senate). The matter is especially interesting because Voren
Na’al makes the following remark in Cracken’s Threat Dossier:
Na’al’s comment identifies Palpatine’s title of President with the Princess Leia of Alderaan’s title of President;
although “President Palpatine” has been retroactively changed to “Supreme Chancellor Palpatine,” “President Organa
Solo” has never been referred to as “Supreme Chancellor Organa Solo,” meaning that the two terms – President and
Supreme Chancellor – are more than likely not alternate translations of the same word. Indeed, the fact that the
Princess Leia used the title “President” (but not “Supreme Chancellor”) and was nevertheless inadvertently associated
with Palpatinism suggests that the two are in fact separate titles, and Palpatine of Naboo was popularly known by
both. Given that there are two languages in very common use throughout the galaxy, it is a simple matter to rationalize
this by saying that the (now) commoner title “Supreme Chancellor” is the Basic title, whereas “President” is the older
Galactic Standard title (this is the approach adopted by this author in the non-canonical Invention section’s “The
President’s War Room,” along with a hypothetical explanation as to why Palpatine came to be so closely associated
with the title of “President”). Likewise, one can say that Palpatine’s close association with the title “President” led to
the Galactic Standard version being preferred for the presiding officer of the Imperial Senate, whereas the scholars were
being pedantic by referring to the office of Chancellor of the Senate instead (it is no great stretch to suspect an
encyclopedist of pedantry).
References:
frequency. Given the enormous species diversity of the “galaxy far, far away” – “The Last One Standing: The Tale of
Boba Fett” mentions “over twenty million intelligent species” distributed among “four hundred billion stars” – it
should come as no surprise that there should be a vast number of languages and dialects in use; indeed, one species’
language may easily be thoroughly unpronounceable (or even incomprehensible) to another species, and it is quite
likely that some species may be mutually unintelligible. The tremendous diversity in the galaxy is a source of a number
of throwaway gags in the HoloNet News feature, such as in HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 47, which carried the
headline “Yarua to Tikkes: ‘Ruuarraararagh!’ See NEWS D 3,” or in Holonet News Vol. 531, No. 49, which included
the feature “Most Popular Baby Names,” which listed in descending order the names “Losibaru,” “Janara,” “Barada,”
“Gaeriel,” and “(Sharp keening at 85 cycles, followed by five atonal mandible clicks).”
The lingua franca of the “galaxy far, far away” is appropriately called Basic, which like any language can be further
subdivided into regional dialects and socially stratified patterns of speech (notably, the majority of Imperial officers are
heard to speak with the Received Pronunciation in the films, as opposed to the more rounded accents of the rebels);
Basic has apparently been in use for quite some time, as the original colonists who settled on Adumar were exiled from
the Galactic Republic circa 10,000 BrS, but their language was still “recognizably a dialect of Basic,” according to
General Airen Cracken, Director, New Republic Intelligence, in Starfighters of Adumar. It can be generally assumed
that most Star Wars dialogue and texts are (notionally) rendered in Basic, except when this is obviously not the case
(Chewbacca and Jabba Desilijic Tiure obviously speak Shyriiwook and Huttese, respectively, for example). Although
Basic is the language of government, commerce, and travel, other languages are used as well; the Galactic Phrase Book
& Travel Guide says that “so much business” is done in Huttese that a “basic knowledge” of the language is “essential,
especially for the executive and business traveler” (note that the Revised Core Rulebook attributes fluency in Huttese
to Palpatine of Naboo, a galactic statesman of some repute).
Galactic Standard (occasionally also seen as Galaxy Standard) is a somewhat older term first mentioned in “The
Crimson Forever!”, where Captain Han Solo is surprised that a priest in the extragalactic Red Nebula speaks it.
Galactic Standard is apparently older than Basic, as Arden Lyn, a dark side Follower of Palawa who was thought killed
circa 25,000 BrS, was said by “The Emperor’s Pawns” to speak “Old Galactic Standard” in addition to Basic and
Bunduki (Bunduki being the language of the Followers of Palawa). Indeed, Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide is
notionally written in Galactic Standard, not Basic. The exchange in “The Crimson Forever!” would seem to suggest
that Galactic Standard is merely another name for Basic, but the fact that Arden Lyn is explicitly said to speak both
Basic and Galactic Standard in “The Emperor’s Pawns” conclusively separates the two and forces us to reexamine Solo’
s conversation with the priest; apparently Solo’s entire conversation with Chewbacca was in Galactic Standard rather
than Basic (this is unsurprising, given that Solo is himself a polyglot, known to speak or understand Basic,
Shyriiwook, Huttese, and Togorian at the very least).
High Galactic is a somewhat more obscure language, first mentioned in “New Planets, New Perils!”, in which it was
explained that “pera is High Galactic for male parent; fi means male child” (this was subsequently referenced in “Who’
s Who: Imperial Grand Admirals,” when the religious fanatic Grand Admiral Peccati Syn’s personal flagship was
identified as HIMS Fi). In both cases, High Galactic is used as a sacred language, and the use of High Galactic
terminology has religious connotations. In “The Dark Forces Saga, Part 4: Of the Crudest Matter,” High Galactic is
identified with “the language of the earliest Jedi sages” from “Fight Saber: Jedi Lightsaber Combat,” thus reinforcing its
status as an ecclesiastical language by associating it with the monastic Jedi Order, an ascetic cult; notice that Syn was
under the influence of an agent of the Prophets of the Dark Side, a schismatic Sith sect (the Sith being themselves a
schismatic and heretical sect of the Jedi). Apparently, High Galactic has associations with the galactic upper class, as
courtier Sarcev Quest is said to be fluent in High Galactic in “The Emperor’s Pawns” (alternatively, it could be that
Quest learned High Galactic during his time with the Jedi Order prior to being ignominiously transferred to the
Agricultural Corps).
Polylingualism is useful because it provides a simple explanation for seeming contradictions in various sources. For
example, Cracken’s Threat Dossier identifies the presiding officer of the Imperial Senate as the President of the Senate,
whereas the scholars write in the Star Wars Encyclopedia that the presiding officer is the Chancellor of the Senate. This
parallels the more prominent example of the claim found in the First Saga of the Journal of the Whills, quoted in Star
Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, that Palpatine of Naboo was elected “President of the Republic” in 3
rS, a title used by the succeeding Expanded Universe sources until the release of The Phantom Menace, in which it was
authoritatively established that Palpatine of Naboo was elected “Supreme Chancellor of the Republic” (here one sees
the similarity to the presidency/chancellery of the Imperial Senate). The matter is especially interesting because Voren
Na’al makes the following remark in Cracken’s Threat Dossier:
- Tradition varies on the proper form of address for the President. Mon Mothma preferred “Chief of State,” but the
address has varied under Leia Organa Solo depending on context. In general, Senators, the Senate bureaucracy, and
the Coruscant media refer to the President, while the General Ministry, member worlds, and the population of the
New Republic often refer to the Chief of State, depending on local languages and history. Part of the problem and
confusion arises from the lingering association of the term President with the last holder of that office before the
Empire – Senator Palpatine. Most of the subsequent Presidents of the Imperial Senate were lapdogs of the
Emperor. The term retains a certain stain; contributing to Organa Solo’s difficulties during the recent crisis. The
concerted effort by certain public relations aides to bring the term “President” into common use invoked old fears
of Presidential tyranny.
Na’al’s comment identifies Palpatine’s title of President with the Princess Leia of Alderaan’s title of President;
although “President Palpatine” has been retroactively changed to “Supreme Chancellor Palpatine,” “President Organa
Solo” has never been referred to as “Supreme Chancellor Organa Solo,” meaning that the two terms – President and
Supreme Chancellor – are more than likely not alternate translations of the same word. Indeed, the fact that the
Princess Leia used the title “President” (but not “Supreme Chancellor”) and was nevertheless inadvertently associated
with Palpatinism suggests that the two are in fact separate titles, and Palpatine of Naboo was popularly known by
both. Given that there are two languages in very common use throughout the galaxy, it is a simple matter to rationalize
this by saying that the (now) commoner title “Supreme Chancellor” is the Basic title, whereas “President” is the older
Galactic Standard title (this is the approach adopted by this author in the non-canonical Invention section’s “The
President’s War Room,” along with a hypothetical explanation as to why Palpatine came to be so closely associated
with the title of “President”). Likewise, one can say that Palpatine’s close association with the title “President” led to
the Galactic Standard version being preferred for the presiding officer of the Imperial Senate, whereas the scholars were
being pedantic by referring to the office of Chancellor of the Senate instead (it is no great stretch to suspect an
encyclopedist of pedantry).
References:
- Allston, Aaron. X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar. Bantam Books, 1999.
- Burtt, Ben. Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide. Del Rey Books, 2001.
- Campbell, Drew, Matt Hong, Timothy S. O’Brien, Jen Seiden and Eric S. Trautmann. Cracken’s Threat
Dossier. West End Games, 1997. - Goodwin, Archie. “The Crimson Forever!” Star Wars Vol. 1, No. 50. Marvel Comics Group, 1981.
- Fry, Jason and Abel G. Peña. “The Dark Forces Saga, Part 4: Of the Crudest Matter.” Wizards of the Coast,
Inc., 2005. - Lucas, George. Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. Ballantine Books, 1976.
- Lucas, George. The Phantom Menace. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1999.
- Moran, Daniel Keys. “The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett.” Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Bantam
Books, 1996. - “Most Popular Baby Names.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 49. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
- Peña, Abel G. and Juan Schwartz, with Pablo Hidalgo. “The Emperor’s Pawns.” Star Wars Gamer No. 5.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 2001. - Peña, Abel G. and Daniel E. Wallace. “Who’s Who: Imperial Grand Admirals.” Star Wars Insider No. 66.
Paizo Publishing, LLC, 2003. - Reynolds, David West. “Fight Saber: Jedi Lightsaber Combat.” Star Wars Insider No. 62. Paizo Publishing,
LLC, 2002. - Sansweet, Stephen J. Star Wars Encyclopedia. Del Rey Books, 1998.
- Slavicsek, Bill and J. D. Wiker. Revised Core Rulebook. Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 2002.
- Thomas, Roy. “New Planets, New Perils!” Star Wars Vol. 1, No. 7. Marvel Comics Group, 1977.
- “Yarua to Tikkes: ‘Ruuarraararagh!’ See NEWS D 3.” HoloNet News Vol. 531, No. 47. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002.
This essay is primarily developed from private conversations between the author and Mr. Jay
Shah. It was originally posted some time in 2005, and was republished on 26 January 2007.
Shah. It was originally posted some time in 2005, and was republished on 26 January 2007.
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