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Languages in-game


Shayddow

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After going through my trooper's story on Tatooine, part of it involved him listening in on a conversation between the local imperial commander and a Geonosian.

For my particular trooper, I head-canon that he was able to understand it because he is a cyborg, so his implants handle the translation.  BUT... unlike the other franchise (Trek), Star Wars doesn't have universal translators to my knowledge. Now, a smuggler or bounty hunter might have working knowledge of Huttese.

This still doesn't explain why my Jedi counselor understands Trandosean (Qyzen), my smuggler understands Wookie (Bowdaar), my Jedi Knight understands Droid (T7-01), or how our characters seem to understand all the other non-basic speakers throughout the SW universe.  Or how this knowledge came to be lost - (in the movies they need C3-PO to translate Jabba's speaking).

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In a world like that of SW, I don't think it's much of a stretch for a lot of people to pick up a handful of but not all languages in various ways (translators, education, interacting with speakers, etc.), especially when it comes to languages of species that understand basic but physically can't speak it due to different vocal chords and other anatomy.

 

After all, Han understands Chewie and Greedo and they understand him. Anakin always understood R2 and Hera and her family understand Chopper (and Ezra starts picking it up over time).

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3 hours ago, BombshellKes said:

I don't think it's much of a stretch for a lot of people to pick up a handful of but not all languages in various ways

Does anyone here (apart from me)(1) actually live in a country that has a "normal" language that is not that person's native language?  (Hint: it isn't as simple as you make it out to be.

(1) I'm English(2), and I live in France.

(2) Not the fake "English" that really means "British", as used by inhabitants of the United States(3)(4), but *actually* English == born specifically in England.

(3) I lived there in the 1980s, thank you, so I know whereof I speak.  I would also like to point out that the late Mrs Cynic was Texan.  Er, we met in university, thank you.

(4) And also the French, sadly.

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I don't mean it's super easy to just pick up IRL, just that in a world like that of Star Wars it's not that much of a stretch. As in, suspension of disbelief. Though hard IRL, I don't find it hard to think a bunch of aliens constantly traveling the galaxy, fighting with swords with blades made of laser, moving stuff with the Force, Jedi mind tricks, etc. maybe could do it. I'm not referring to real life. I'm referring to Star Wars and what I think seems plausible within the piece of media, especially given the many instances we've seen. 

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