Question #3: from June 9, 2003:

Does there exist anywhere an authoritative pronunciation guide to names of characters, planets, etc. from the Star Wars universe? I don't know if anyone ever concerned themselves with it terribly, since even within the films names are often pronounced differently (and not just from differences in actors' accents), but I thought I'd ask.
--Philip

My answer from 2003 With commentary from 2025:

I don't believe so. As you've stated, different actors say different names different ways, and as such, such a guide would probably be pretty useless.

I'd just go with whatever sounds right to you, or until someone corrects you. Until then, no need to worry.

This continues to vex me to this day, because it seems that how you say names - or what names you call things - is sort of a regional accent. Hasbro employees pronounce Momaw Nadon a different way than collectors in Arizona or people I've worked with at Entertainment Earth. If there's a "right" way, it's unknown to me. We've been dealing with "Lay-uh" versus "Lee-uh" since the first movie, and I think we all know with Leia, it's the former. But we also have "chin guns" versus "tusks" on the AT-AT and other quirks. Heck, there's even debate on if the "AT-AT" is the word "at" twice, or if you say each letter individually. (It's the former. All who disagree are wrong.)

If Disney wants some sort of book deal goldmine, some sort of complete guide to the galaxy with an audiobook might be pretty useful for finding out where we were wrong. Or for starting fights on the topic, which is more likely.

Ad: Get New Star Wars Items at Entertainment Earth! Get Free USA Shipping on Orders $79+

 

Become a Patron!

Special thanks to our generous Patreon patrons, especially: JT, Jared, Bobb, Christopher, Daniel, Dan, Tim, Jayson, Matthew, Michael, Robert, Stephen, Todd DrReiCow, Eddie, Jeremy, Mario, and Todd! Thanks for helping us keep the servers on!

FIN

Not much to tag here, especially as the movies seemed to just do whatever. "Leia" or "Han" could be pronounced differently within the same movie, and it looks like there may be factions going with "Deathstar" in addition to "Death Star." At least we're pretty much on the same page with R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Also, anybody else watching the new Alien show on Hulu? That's up now. It's not bad and I think is the only 1970s sci-fi franchise addition we're getting for the rest of the year, although Strange New Worlds is still going for the 1960s kids. And Predator gets a new entry around Thankgiving for the 1980s kids. And presumably someone is excited for Avatar.   I'm down to see Spinal Tap II though.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

Social media? Sure. Bluesky | Fediverse | Mastodon | Tumblr | Instagram

I'm on Instagram! All Pictures from a GameBoy Camera.