When Luke Skywalker accepts his mission to avenge his father and be trained as a Jedi Knight, his Master’s speech is rather unique. By the Star Wars franchise, the only person who speaks like Master Yoda is Master Yoda. In the entire galaxy, only two beings like Yoda still exist (at least until now). When Anakin Skywalker was just a Padawan, he met Jedi Master Yaddle, who was on the Jedi Council with Yoda. The Mandalorian, some time after Luke became a hermit, was hired to rescue a baby who turned out to be named Grogu.
Although Yoda, Yaddle and Grogu are the same species, they are not necessarily related. At this point, Yoda and Yaddle are the only ones of their kind we’ve seen talking, as Grogu is a baby. In Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Bryce Dallas voices Howard Yaddle, affirming that Yoda’s unique form of communication is all his own. At this point in the Star Wars saga, the species to which these three belong, is shrouded in mystery, particularly with regard to syntax. Yoda’s speech leads the audience to believe he is wise based on his aged appearance and peculiar speech pattern. But the question remains: Why does Yoda talk the way he does?
Yoda’s speech pattern
Consider other types in the Star Wars universe who don’t speak standard English. For example, Chewbacca, a Wookie, speaks in a series of growls and howls, while the Jawas and Tusken Raiders speak their own respective languages despite being human or humanoid creatures. Language and its subsequent elements such as development, semantics and syntax provide insight into a culture and its history. According to The Atlantic Ocean, language is structured by subject, verb and object. Yoda’s speech structure is object-subject-verb, or OSV, which adds to the mystery of his species and makes him weirder.
While fans are clamoring about what’s canon and whether Darth Vader is scarier than Darth Maul, one thing’s for sure: Many fans were intrigued by Yoda’s syntax at its premiere. This initial reaction to the way Yoda spoke was well received. Yoda was the first character of his kind, so his speech pattern, like Wookies or Jawas, seemed unique to his kind. Since his debut, he has been considered one of the wisest characters in the entire saga. His wisdom is derived from his speech structure and has inspired countless lists of affirmative quotes.
Jedi Master Yaddle and Grogu’s speech patterns
The excitement that preceded it Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was received with much contempt. Except introducing one character: Jedi Master Yaddle. With the Jedi Council as an integral part of Episodes 1-3, fans were curious if the OSV speech Yoda used was innate to his species. But Jedi Master Yaddle was just present, no lines or hints that she shared Yoda’s speech pattern. The first female appearance of her kind, and it took almost 20 years for a limerick of confirmation: Yaddle speaks more frequently, with a subject-object-verb structure, making Yoda even more mysterious.
As fans learn more about Yaddle through the Disney+ series, Stories of the Jedi, the question of their species remains. The answers will hopefully be revealed with Grogu. When The Mandalorian debuted a baby, it’s safe to assume that no one expected the baby to be half a century old! Grogu was a 50-year-old baby, the equivalent of midlife for humans, leaving fans with more questions about the species than answers. As for Grogu’s speech, he babbles much like a human baby does. With Grogu, it would be safe to assume that his speech will be similar to Yaddle’s SOV pattern. Therefore, Yoda’s OSV speech is entirely its own unique form of English.
George Lucas’ own words
According to hair, Yoda’s character design is based on the genius Albert Einstein. Not only does this add to his mystique as a wizened sage, but it could also explain why he speaks in a specific way. It is famous that Einstein did not speak complete sentences until he was five years old, yet he was one of the greatest minds the world has known. In fact, an economist coined the phrase Einstein syndrome to help explain this phenomenon. Just as the inspiration for Yoda’s design is known, George Lucas himself has spoken about why Yoda speaks the way he does. In this video from Star Wars Theory, the narrator quotes Lucas’ reasoning for Yoda’s speech. Essentially, Lucas’s creation of characters and their languages was to use the syntax of other languages and make them sound strange. With Yoda in particular, he flipped the syntax and made it as easy to understand as possible. Lucas intended the audience to focus on the philosophical lessons rather than trying to decipher the language of another alien species.