20 Things You Somehow Missed In Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

14. The Real-World Inspiration Behind Various Alien Languages

Jabba SW
Lucasfilm

Part of what helps make the galaxy far, far away feel like a vibrant, multicultural universe is the fact that not all the characters within it speak English; Or Galactic Basic as it's known in the Star Wars sphere.

When it comes to the many alien languages heard being spoken over the course of the Skywalker Saga and beyond, though, the majority of these seemingly extraterrestrial native tongues have far more earthly origins than you likely realised.

In Return of the Jedi alone, Huttese, the language spoken by the mighty Jabba the Hutt, was based on Quechua, the main language of the Incan Empire. Elsewhere, Lando's co-pilot Nien Nunb is seen speaking Kikuyu, a regional Kenyan language, whenever he unleashes his native Sullustan tongue. And lastly, the Ewokese heard in the picture was inspired heavily by the Tibetan and Kalmyk Oirat languages.

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Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...