Every Language in Star Wars Explained
C-3PO claims to be "fluent in over six million forms of communication." The Star Wars galaxy doesn't show us six million languages — but it shows us a lot, from Jabba's Huttese to R2-D2's beeps to the Mandalorians' warrior tongue.
Here's a complete guide to the languages of Star Wars.
The Counterintuitive Truth: Star Wars Languages Were Mostly Built by a Sound Designer
Star Trek hired a linguist for Klingon. Game of Thrones hired a linguist for Dothraki. Star Wars' most famous alien languages were created mainly by Ben Burtt, a sound designer.
Burtt built languages from real recordings — processed, sped up, and remixed. That makes Star Wars languages feel organic without full grammars. We call this sonic conlanging: creating languages from sound first and meaning second.
Galactic Basic
- Speakers: Most humans and many species
- On screen: English
- Written in: Aurebesh
Galactic Basic is the galaxy's common language, used by the Republic, Empire, and most characters.
Write Basic in the Star Wars alphabet: Aurebesh Translator
Huttese
- Speakers: Hutts (Jabba), Greedo, smugglers, Tatooine locals
- Created by: Ben Burtt, drawing on sounds from Quechua
- Famous words: Chuba! (You!), bantha poodoo (bantha fodder)
Huttese is the criminal underworld's lingua franca. See The Complete Guide to Huttese.
Shyriiwook (Wookiee)
- Speakers: Wookiees like Chewbacca
- Created by: Ben Burtt from animal recordings, including bears, walruses, and lions
Wookiees can understand Basic, but their vocal cords can't produce it. Han Solo understands Chewie perfectly.
Droidspeak / Binary
- Speakers: Astromech droids like R2-D2 and BB-8
- Created by: Ben Burtt, using his own voice and an electronic synthesizer
Ewokese
- Speakers: Ewoks of Endor
- Created by: Ben Burtt, inspired by recordings of languages including Tibetan and Nepali
- Famous phrase: Yub nub — the celebration song from the original Return of the Jedi ending
Jawaese
- Speakers: Jawas of Tatooine
- Created by: Ben Burtt, reportedly from sped-up recordings of Zulu
- Famous word: Utinni!
Mando'a
- Speakers: Mandalorians
- Created by: Author Karen Traviss for the Republic Commando novels (2004 onward)
- Famous words: Oya!, vod (brother), beskar (Mandalorian iron)
The most developed Star Wars language, with real grammar and vocabulary.
Sith
- Speakers: Ancient Sith species and Sith Lords
- Development: Expanded in Legends material
Gungan
- Speakers: Gungans like Jar Jar Binks
- Style: A heavily accented form of Basic — "Meesa," "yousa," "bombad"
Cheunh
- Speakers: The Chiss, including Grand Admiral Thrawn
- Development: Expanded in novels
More Languages
| Language | Speakers | Translator |
|---|---|---|
| Aqualish | Aqualish (like Ponda Baba) | Aqualish |
| Kyuzo | Kyuzo bounty hunters like Embo | Kyuzo |
| Stormtrooper | Imperial troops (Basic, with attitude) | Stormtrooper |
| Smuggler's Cant | Smugglers and scoundrels | Smuggler's Cant |
| Tusken sign language | Tusken Raiders | — |
| Yoda speak | Yoda (Basic, rearranged) | Yoda |
Galactic Basic Is Actually Several Styles
Characters speak Basic in different ways:
- Yoda rearranges sentence order. Read Why Does Yoda Speak Backwards?
- Gungans use distinct grammar and pronouns.
- Imperial officers sound formal and British-accented in the original trilogy.
- Smugglers use slang like "nerf herder."
That's dialect as character: using speech patterns to reveal who someone is.
What Experts Say
Ben Burtt has described searching through recordings of real languages and animals, then layering and processing them until they felt alien but emotionally readable. His approach earned him Academy recognition for sound design and influenced how studios create creature voices today.
Where Star Wars Languages Are Heading
Disney+ series like The Mandalorian and Andor have given alien languages more screen time than ever. We predict Mando'a will become the first Star Wars language to receive fully official, published learning materials — cementing it as the galaxy's answer to Klingon.