Mandalorian ( writing system ) / Legends The " Mandalorian " writing system consisted of twenty - six characters and was used to provide a written analog to the spoken " Mando ' a " . Despite there being no " F " , " X " , or " Z " equivalents in the verbal " Mando ' a " , these letters were included in the written alphabet for greater ease in transliterating foreign words . " Mandalorian " also allowed for use of a base 10 number system with numbers denoted 0 through 9 . Traditional Mandalorian use . Traditional Mandalorian groups , such as the True Mandalorians , used " Mandalorian " to record and display written information on personal datapads and ship - board display screens . They also painted sigils on their helmets to signify status or condition . The Mandalorian characters for M and S were often painted to identify Mandalorians suffering " mir ' shupur " ( brain damage ) . This served to warn other Mandos to go easy on sufferers but also as a form of battle commendation . Jango Fett relied heavily upon written " Mandalorian " to display relevant information on his ship - board displays . Use of " Mandalorian " in this form was continued by traditional Mandalorian groups such as the Mandalorian Protectors . New Mandalorian use . The New Mandalorians used written " Mandalorian " frequently in their everyday lives , particularly for scientific applications . However , they relied little on " Mando ' a " , if at all , to communicate amongst themselves and as such , instances of written " Mandalorian " by the New Mandalorians could often be translated directly into Basic . There were a few differences in the script used by the New Mandalorians as opposed to that used by traditional Mandalorians such as Jango Fett . New Mandalorian numerology also differed from that used by traditional Mandalorians . New Mandalorians used Aurebesh numerals to denote the numbers 0 through 9 . The Mandalorian Secret Service displayed Aurebesh numerals on their riot shields while displaying a crest on their left shoulder that read " In Defense of Mandalore " . The phrase , while written using " Mandalorian " , was not Mando ' a ; instead it was able to be directly translated into Basic . Behind the scenes . Prior to 2002 , a typeface consisting of narrow vertical characters was developed to represent the written form of the Mandalorian language . It was developed by Philip Metschan at the request of George Lucas to be used throughout . This typeface , erroneously named " Mandelorian " by Metschan , was created in conjunction with the further development of Joe Johnston ' s Star Wars ' 76 ( originally developed during the Original trilogy ) as well as a Geonosian typeface that can be seen woven into the Geonosian Death Star plans and display screens throughout the movie . Metschan ' s typeface is often seen as using the same character for " C " & " U " . This is not the case and upon closer inspection it can be seen that there is a subtle difference between these two characters . A common misconception is that the written form of Mandalorian was developed by Karen Traviss and Jesse Harlin for the " " multimedia project . While they did develop the Mando ' a spoken language and its associated grammatical rules , they are not responsible for its original written visual depiction . Karen Traviss often credits a 23 - letter alphabet to Jesse Harlin . However , at the time , it is highly likely that he was simply working from an incomplete version of Metschan ' s typeface licensed to them by Lucasfilm . The 23 - letter alphabet may in fact be Ancient Mandalorian as named by Jesse Harlin . The absence of 3 characters supports that Ancient Mandalorian was utilized " in - universe " prior to the need for the current 26 - letter Mandalorian alphabet . The typeface was originally featured on displays within Jango Fett ' s " Slave I " and is now used throughout " " to denote instances of written Mandalorian . For the 2004 Original Trilogy DVD release , artist Van Ling incorporated the Mandalorian typeface into a number of transitional screens within the DVD ' s menu system . Many fan - made typefaces have been created and distributed via the internet throughout the years , inconsistently varying and containing numerous fan - made characters . None of the freely available typefaces accurately represent the original " Mandelorian " typeface available on Philip Metschan ' s website that was officially used throughout Star Wars Episode II : Attack of the Clones . When compared to the official version of the Mandalorian alphabet , common characters that are often incorrectly depicted ( allowing fan - made fonts to be identified ) include the letters " C " , " M " , " N " , " P " , " Q " , " V " , " X " & " Z " . The Star Wars Insider 117 article , " The Duchess and the Jedi " , has further compounded the issue by erroneously using a fan - made font instead of Philip Metschan ' s typeface used in Star Wars : Attack Of The Clones . The publishers at Insider have in fact used one of the oldest and most widely known fan - made fonts by Erik Schroeder ( alias Erikstormtrooper . com ) . Erik has developed two fan - made fonts based upon his own research : Version 1 - Mandalor _ old & the updated Version 2 - Mandalor . The telltale sign that the older fan - made font has been used in Issue 117 are the letters " M " & " C " . They match those developed by Erik exactly . Erik himself has noted that the original characters were incorrect and had subsequently updated them for version 2 of his font . Even more telling is that Erik ' s character " C " is entirely his own design and does not appear in any other official media . While closer to Metschan ' s work , Erik ' s version 2 font is still not 100 % screen accurate as seen by the letter " C " and the numerals " 1 " , " 2 " & " 0 " when compared to Philip Metschan ' s official type - face . Why the publishers of Star Wars Insider have chosen to use an old fan - made font instead of the officially licensed font by Metschan is unknown . In the " " episode , The Academy , the Mandalorian Secret Service crest reads " In Defense of Mandalore " . Curiously in this version , the letter " M " differs from that developed by Metschan for the " Slave I " display screens in Star Wars : Episode II Attack of the Clones . The differing scripts used throughout " Star Wars : The Clone Wars " may be the written form of Concordian , however , as this particular script is still translatable directly into basic it is more likely that it is simply a new iteration of " Mandalorian " adopted by the New Mandalorians and revived Death Watch . This has yet to be confirmed in an official source . The Mandalorian inscriptions on page 25 and 26 of Star Wars Insider # 86 translate as " " Jango Fett lost his head " " and " " akod oya akod oya akod oya " " respectively .