Today is May 4th So we say “May the fourth be with you” as a joke!
What can Star Wars Teach us about ACCENTS?
#1 Pronunciation
Today is May 4th So we say “May the fourth be with you” as a joke!
Say 4th/force three times.
Feel the friction & notice your tongue position for /θ/ (th) vs. /s/.
English spelling is already difficult to pronounce! Try these 5 words invented for star wars:
Kashyyyk (planet of the wookies)
Qui-Gon Jinn (a Jedi Master)
Coruscant (capital planet of the Galactic Republic)
Sheev Palpatine (the Sith Lord Emperor)
Jorus C’baoth (a Jedi Master)
#2 Idiolects
An idiolect is a person’s individual accent, a result of their life experiences
Human idiolects in Star Wars:
Han Solo
Luke
Princess Leia
Qui-Gon Jinn darth vadar c3po
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Darth Vadar
C3PO
They all speak the same language. Yet they are so unique in their individual accent.
NON- Human idiolects in Star Wars:
Yoda
Ewoks
Chewbacca
R2D2
Jaba the Hut
I bet if the room were dark and they were speaking to you, you’d know it was them!
How is their voice their personality?
#3 Placement
Your Resonance inside your body. How your voice resonates and echos against your bones and all the soft parts inside.
NOT the actual pitch or frequency of your voice, but how the frequencies resonate inside the cavities.
Examples:
Jaba the Hut’s words resonate inside his large body.
Jar Jar Binks has a head voice.
#4 Rhythm
When certain words in English stick out more than others (instead of the syllables being all the same length).
Example:
Even though Jaba the Hut doesn’t speak English, we can hear that some of his words pop out more than others, just like in English (versus syllable-time stressed languages, such as Spanish).
#5 Intonation
It’s not what you say, it’s HOW you say it!
Intonation is the recognizable pitch patterns of going up and down.
Read these iconic Star Wars quotes out loud to mimic as they said them in Star Wars.
How do their pitch patterns show emotion & intention?
“Luke, I am your father.”
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
“I love you.” “I know.”
“It’s a trap!”
“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
Of course there are so many other things that we do with our voice. Think of the breathiness of Darth Vadar. We have a range of that aspect of our voice as well, from CREAKY to MODAL to BREATHY voice!
I hope that, like me, you’re watching Star Wars today and having some Boba Bubble tea with some Boba Fettucini!
✍️🤔Comment below! Who is your favorite Star Wars Character? What makes their voice stand out to you? Please don’t say Jar Jar Binks- that’s a whole can of linguistic worms!
