Galactic Basic Standard Galactic Basic Standard ( or Galactic Basic , Galactic Standard , Galaxy Standard or just Basic ) was the most prevalent language in the galaxy . History . Following the shattering of the Infinite Empire , the Rakata ' s former slaves exterminated them and started to build their own empires with their masters ' technology . Once the Core Worlds were joined by renewed communication channels and trade , they united as the first Galactic Republic . To allow easy communication among the new government ' s members , a trade language later known as Old Galactic Standard was chosen as the new official language of government and commerce . While Old Galactic Standard was mostly derived from Old Coruscanti , the mother tongue of the Humans of Coruscant , its vocabulary incorporated many words from over a dozen other languages , including Durese and Bothese . By the lifetime of Peshosloc , a holowright who lived between 15 , 762 BBY and 15 , 609 BBY , the language had evolved significantly enough to be considered a distinct historical division , which was latter dubbed Mid - Galactic Standard . Galactic Basic was further influenced by Dromnyr after the Vultan s joined the Republic around 14 , 000 BBY , resulting ultimately in the modern Galactic Basic Standard . Under the Galactic Empire , a version of the language was known as Imperial Basic . The language was adopted by the Rebel Alliance , and as such was spoken in the Alliance of Free Planets , the New Republic , the Imperial Remnant , the Galactic Alliance , and the Fel , Sith and True Empires . Usage . Most sentient species that made galactic contact could and did speak Basic in addition to whatever native or regional language they might have used on a daily basis . Some beings normally did not possess the organs necessary to speak Basic , including Polis Massans , Ssi - ruu k , P ' w ' eck s , Wookiees , and a number of insectoid races . Most Gamorreans could not speak Basic , though there were exceptions ( such as Governor Kugg ) . Whether or not a being could speak Basic , it was usually in their best interest to comprehend it , and most did . Known accents and dialects . Various cultures created different accents around the galaxy , each with their own unique set of pronunciations . The Wookiee Ralrracheen spoke with a speech impediment . Due to the differences in the vocal abilities of Ralrra , his dialect was perfectly understandable by non - Wookiees , and it was further suggested that some Wookiees with this condition could speak Basic , at the loss of all forms of Shyriiwook . Basic - speaking Rodians tended to suffer from speech impediments as well , most notably a lisp . Avaro Sookcool and Teeloo were two such Rodians ; the phonemes [ ɹ ] , [ ɫ ] and [ s ] proved to be the most problematic to vocalize . Behind the scenes . Basic ' s relation to English . In " Star Wars " media , Basic is the same as , with the exception of a few words and phrases devised by authors . StarWars . com has suggested that languages of the " Star Wars " universe like Ewokese in and the language spoken by the Towanis in " " and " " have also been translated to English . In translations into non - English languages , Basic is assumed to be English but translated to the other language . While the letters are different in Basic than English , there are multiple examples where Latin alphabet letters are mentioned , such as in Obi - Wan Kenobi ' s quote , " Do you have a plan B ? , " Mission Vao ' s habitual reference to Zaalbar as " Big Z , " and most droid designations ( in - universe , this is referred to as the High Galactic alphabet ) . Greek letters ( Old Tionese letters in the " Star Wars " universe ) are used at times , examples including Delta Squad . Accents . in English correspond to different in - universe accents in the movies . Ewan McGregor ' s and Ian McDiarmid ' s faint upper - class Scottish accents are , for example , Coruscanti accents in the movies . As a general rule , Imperial characters speak with - like British accents while Rebels usually have American accents . However , this is perhaps a representation of social class , as stormtroopers and other low - ranking Imperials are heard to speak with American accents , while some Rebels ( Mon Mothma , for instance ) speak with British accents . There are several exceptions to the rule : several high - ranking Imperial officers , such as Admiral Motti and Siward Cass , clearly have American accents . ( Indeed , in " " , a slight majority of Imperial officer accents are American . ) Other accents are also heard , such as : Original etymology . " Star Wars " authors have coined original English - like words derived from real English elements but which don ' t exist in the English language ; they seem useful to a space - driven civilization of the " Star Wars " characters , but totally useless for our daily language . Some such words are " gentlebeing " ( equivalent to " gentleman , " but applicable to all species , including non - humanoid ones ) , " offworlder , " " bird " ( slang for spaceship , similar to how US Military slang calls an aircraft a " bird " ) , " hyperspace , " " homeworld , " " spacer , " " sentientologist , " " youngling " ( " young " plus suffix " - ling , " meaning " person " ) and other technological terms like blaster , midi - chlorian , droid ( from android ) , durasteel , astrogation etc . However , Basic vocabulary includes some totally original words , of unexplainable etymology , unrelated to English , like Moff , Jedi , Padawan , Darth , etc . , or even compounds like Twi ' lek ( " twin lekku " ) . It is possible that such terms are loanwords or are derived from other languages . Notes . Basic is usually written from left to right ; however , it can also be written from top to bottom ( as seen in " Junior Jedi Knights : " , in the Massassi inscriptions ) .