Ke jorhaa'ir Mando'a!

Yes, it's true. There's a Mandalorian language, Mando'a. I developed it for Lucasfilm and now it's a functioning language that you can learn and speak. I'm not writing any more Star Wars, so I won't be developing the language further or adding to the dictionary as planned, and I'm not dealing with any more queries on it, but there's enough here to keep you busy for years. I'll leave it here as a fan resource indefinitely unless I'm asked to remove it by the copyright owner. The information is"as is" - i.e. the dictionary is the version I wrote for Lucasfilm, and the alphabet is straight from them - so if you don't like something in it, make up some fanon that keeps you happy. It's just background to some fiction, and it really isn't worth getting your panties in a bunch about it. Treat it like real languages - they also evolve daily and spawn different versions.

Alphabet

Grammar

Dictionary

LEGAL NOTICE - and if you've not read the copyright notice on this site, now's a good time to do it.

Mando'a is Lucasfilm's property like all the Star Wars stuff I created, not mine, and so I can't give anyone permission to reproduce it - it's not mine to give. It's protected by copyright. Please do NOT reproduce it in any way that will break copyright law - which means don't just copy the lot onto your website or fanzine. (Or your wiki - because wikis are not a special case in any way. They're just another web site.) It's for private individual use. If you don't know what the copyright laws say, read the terms and conditions here on the Star Wars official site - see under Ownership.

And like the no-fanfic rule - please don't send me suggestions or words for Mando'a. Legal stuff. And, like I say, I stopped work on it when I stopped working on Star Wars novels.

The language started life as the lyrics for the superb choral music in the Republic Commando game, written by Lucasarts composer and all-round lovely bloke Jesse Harlin; it didn't have a name. From that springboard I was able to create a whole language. It features in the Republic and Imperial Commando and Legacy of the Force novels, as well as John Jackson Miller's Old Republic comics. Folks have tattooed it in interesting places, had it inscribed on wedding rings, got married using it, and used it in adoption ceremonies. It's even been used by armed forces personnel when training others, to lighten things up a bit. I hear there are even Iraqi troops who are familiar with the odd word. Mando'a, like Mandos, gets around a bit. It's supposed to be fun. Let's all help ensure it stays that way.

I'm not an academic linguist, nor do I play one on television, but Mando'a has been beta tested by a few people from fans to LucasArts staff and it seems to work pretty well. It's flexible, and you don't need to get hung up about complex grammar. Well, would you correct the syntax of a guy in armour with a blaster held to your head? Didn't think so...

By the way, for the true enthusiast - Mando ne'tra gal, or black ale, is not Guinness. It's a milk stout like Mackeson - sweeter, more fragrant, and 3% ABV. As the Mandos would say, ne'tra gal mesh'la, jat'isyc, bal - wayii - jahaal'got; black ale looks good, tastes good, and - by golly - it does you good! For American readers of drinking age, you can buy a slightly stronger version of Mackeson in the USA: check out this list of stockists.

This file is the full dictionary/ lexicon of words published before I called it a day. © Lucasfilm 2007 Before you ask, there is no print version planned.

This is the grammar file - © Lucasfilm 2006

Alphabet - © Lucasfilm 2006. This is the single graphic image as I received it - I can't recall if it was designed for the movie Attack of the Clones or the visual dictionary that went with it. Either way, if you find discrepancies in it, you'll have to take it up with LFL. And welcome to my world - all franchises are chock full of discrepancies and things that don't fit, and Star Wars is one of them. It doesn't all fit, and it never will.

The dictionary is in Excel spreadsheet format, so you can sort by Mando'a or by English, depending on which way you're translating, so this file does double duty. If you don't have spreadsheet software, download a free Microsoft Office-type suite from OpenOffice. There are others, like Ability office software, but that's not free. All you have to do to switch between Mando'a - English and English - Mando'a is click on the DATA drop-down menu in the speadsheet app you're using, then open the SORT dialogue.

I planned to expand the database to at least 2,000 words - which is more or less the critical mass for a spoken language - but this is as far as I got before I called endex on SW. And as much as I would love to deal with individual queries, my workload is too heavy to deal with requests. Here are the tools - have fun with them.