Why can't R2 speak English?

[JD]

I think I read or watched an interview where Anthony Daniels said he was going for a prim and proper English butler with C-3P0s voice.

 

[Oddish]

I was trolling bigots, but Ok. I get the point.

 

[Crewman6]

I believe he actually did speak English in the first few versions of the script for the original movie. I read the comic based on Lucas's first draft script, and I'm pretty sure the version of R2 in that spoke English.

He's "speaking English" in a comic? Where everyone's dialogue is in printed form?? Oookay....

I would love to get a novel or series going through the saga entirely from R2's perspective. Since 3P0 got his mind wiped, he's the only character who was involved in all 9 of the Skywalker Saga movies, plus at least one Rebels episode and a cameo in Rogue One, who actually remembers everything. From the way 3P0 talks to him, he seems to be a snarky little bastard, so a first person narrative from his perspective could be fun.

It's only funny because we don't know exactly what he's saying.

 

[JD]

He's "speaking English" in a comic? Where everyone's dialogue is in printed form?? Oookay....

Even if it's in printed form the characters are still talking. I'm honestly not sure how else to describe the dialogue in the speech bubbles.

 

[Josh Kelton]

Is this just for story purposes, or is there a specific reason R2D2 can't speak English?

Too much naughty language to be spoken in English

 

[CorporalClegg]

*Basic.

 

[Oddish]

R2 is awesome even when he speaks with nothing but beeps.

C3PO is almost as annoying as Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Crewman6]

Even if it's in printed form the characters are still talking. I'm honestly not sure how else to describe the dialogue in the speech bubbles.

He's probably speaking droid.

 

[Oddish]

I like the idea of R2 having a potty mouth. When C3PO translates for him, he has to creatively edit the little droid's words.

 

[UssGlenn]

Chopper in Rebels

If you've ever seen any of the Choptalk videos on YouTube, you'll come to realize that Chopper speaks a highly distorted version of Basic, not Binary. it's actually hilarious, as he has said "what the fuck" on a kids cartoon more than once.

 

[publiusr]

The idea of droids manning so much equipment might be why you don’t see much hacking aside from what R-2 has done.

In Star Trek, and In cyberpunk venues, you can have what happened with the recent pipeline scare. But if you have a labor intensive system with a bunch of droids, you can just shove them out of the way.

The Star Wars tech has been around for so very long...as to be almost *geologic*

Plug and play..some soldering...but maybe only something like Lobot can understand.

 

[David cgc]

If you've ever seen any of the Choptalk videos on YouTube, you'll come to realize that Chopper speaks a highly distorted version of Basic, not Binary. it's actually hilarious, as he has said "what the fuck" on a kids cartoon more than once.

These are great. It's adorable that Chopper calls Hera "Mom." And I think I would've warmed up to Chopper's constant attempts to murder the rest of the crew faster if I knew what he was saying.

 

[JD]

Wow, I never noticed that before.

 

[Turtletrekker]

These are great. It's adorable that Chopper calls Hera "Mom." And I think I would've warmed up to Chopper's constant attempts to murder the rest of the crew faster if I knew what he was saying.

I didn't think it was possible to love Chopper more than I already did.

I wonder what he said in Rogue One?

 

[publiusr]

Nothing air-able

 

[Tuskin38]

Chopper was also voiced by Filoni. As was a similar model droid in the Clone Wars series finale.

 

[fireproof78]

If R2 could speak English he could bypass security a lot easier:

 

[Crewman6]

This is one of those times when overanalyzing things, where "reality" and literalism completely get in the way of what the point is supposed to be.

Star Wars is, above all else, a fantasy story. Forget "why" a robot can't talk English when other robots can. He can't because it's more interesting that way. It's endearing. It makes him a unique and memorable character a thousand times more than him talking English would be.

if you're watching SW wondering why R2 doesn't speak English, or worrying about the "rules" of hyperspace, you're just plain doing it wrong.

 

[fireproof78]

if you're watching SW wondering why R2 doesn't speak English, or worrying about the "rules" of hyperspace, you're just plain doing it wrong.

Welcome to fandom.

 

[diankra]

R2 definitely understands English (or whatever the humans speak), he just doesn't have the larynx to speak it.