A linguistic thought (given Aurebesh)

[FredH]

Throughout the franchise (in the 21st century, anyway), we’re constantly shown Aurebesh text— and given that they go to the trouble of using an “alien” script rather than just translated English, it can be taken that that text is what’s “actually” there. Yet that text (again, aside from the original trilogy) always transliterates to modern English, which is very strange — unless the implication is that, bizarrely, they’re really actually speaking English.

Why do you suppose they went that way? On the surface, it feels like an (unrealistic, but) indication that this is actually our distant future, and for some odd reason Basic is just English with a new alphabet replacing the ancient Roman one.

 

[Christopher]

"Alien" alphabets in sci-fi and fantasy shows are almost always just transliterated English, because it's easier that way and the filmmakers know that 99% of the audience won't notice or care. The point is simply to give a quick visual impression as the story proceeds, so it's not meant to hold up to close analysis. There's no need to read any more into it than that.

Anyway, Star Wars is a sword-and-planet fantasy universe where a galaxy far, far away has humans in it with names like Luke and Ben and Owen. So yeah, they speak English too, because it's fantasy and isn't supposed to make scientific or historical sense. After all, Aurebesh wasn't created until 1993 for a role-playing game, based on a script that was created for graphics in Return of the Jedi. In the first two movies, they just used English signage and graphics, which is why the Roman alphabet and Aurebesh both exist in Star Wars lore.

 

[fireproof78]

Why do you suppose they went that way?

Because it is easiest. This is a space fantasy, not a linguistic course.

 

[The Wormhole]

If you really want to treat linguistics in Star Wars realistically, the whole thing falls apart because of starfighters which actually look like the Roman letters they're named after, like X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, U-Wings and so on in that order.

 

[Ithekro]

Probably an archaic alphabet from one of the various human worlds that still exists in some fashion.

 

[Set Harth]

If you really want to treat linguistics in Star Wars realistically, the whole thing falls apart because of starfighters which actually look like the Roman letters they're named after, like X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, U-Wings and so on

and then we get to the "B-Wings"

 

[FredH]

"Alien" alphabets in sci-fi and fantasy shows are almost always just transliterated English, because it's easier that way and the filmmakers know that 99% of the audience won't notice or care. The point is simply to give a quick visual impression as the story proceeds, so it's not meant to hold up to close analysis. There's no need to read any more into it than that.

True — but it makes me grit my teeth every time.

 

[Christopher]

True — but it makes me grit my teeth every time.

Sure, it bugs me too when alien script is recognizably just a cryptogram of English. But that's because I recognize that it's a non-diegetic element peeking in and the "real" alien language would surely be different. I don't try to convince myself that it's "actually" English in-story. I just assume it's an imperfect approximation of whatever the "real" language would actually look like.

Except, again, Star Wars characters aren't really aliens, they're English-speaking humans in a fantasy context. ("A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." It tells us up front that it's a fairy tale.) The weird alphabet is just a stylistic touch belatedly added to make the setting look more exotic.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

If you really want to treat linguistics in Star Wars realistically, the whole thing falls apart because of starfighters which actually look like the Roman letters they're named after, like X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, U-Wings and so on in that order.

An B is for blade, an English word.

 

[Ithekro]

Or badass...also an English word.