"Sir, I am fluent in six million forms of communication." –C-3PO (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – 1980)
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent" –Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – 1999)
"You can understand that thing?"
"And 'that thing' can understand you too, so watch it."
–Finn and Han Solo (Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 2015)
"Unfortunately, it is written in the runic language of the Sith."
"So what?"
"My programming forbids me from translating it."
"So, you're telling us the one time we need you to talk, you can't?"
"Irony, sir. I am mechanically incapable of speaking translations from Sith. I believe the rule was passed by the Senate of the Old Republic..."
–C-3PO and Poe Dameron (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 2019)
"You may not know this about me -- in fact, how could you? except perhaps what vestiges remain of my accent -- but... I was educated on Coruscant. Not that that makes me better in any way." –The Majordomo to Mayor Mok Shaiz (The Book of Boba Fett – 2021)
"Although most Padawans want to learn Shyriiwook, I took it upon myself to learn a language a little more nuanced." – Yord Fandar (The Acolyte – 2024)
Why is the most common language spoken in the Star Wars universe called Galactic Basic Standard? What is a Core Worlds accent of Basic? What does it mean to sound "more Core than Core"? Why are some non-standard varieties of Basic tolerated more politely than others? And how does almost everyone seem to understand Chewie?
Language ideologies are the societal-level, barely-visible, 'commonsense' notions about language upon which individuals navigate their everyday lives and continually construct their identities. A number of specific language ideologies – such as those exemplified above concerning linguistic competence and intelligence, the notion that languages can be deliberately eradicated, the idea of 'standard' languages, and the neoliberal reduction of language(s) to a decontextualized means of augmenting individual capital – will be explored in this course through the medium of the Star Wars media portfolio. Thinking in terms of power, language ideologies are what give a regime its power. They are created by all living things. The surround us, penetrate us; they bind the galaxy together. Pre-existing knowledge of Star Wars is by no means a requirement for successful participation in this course, but may increase enjoyment.
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