Ke jorhaa'ir Mando'a!
Yes,
it's true. There's now a Mandalorian language, Mando'a. I developed it
for Lucasfilm and now it's a functioning language that you can learn and speak.
The language started life as the lyrics for the superb
choral music in the Republic Commando game, written by Lucasarts
composer Jesse Harlin; it didn't even have a name. From that springboard
I was able to create a whole language. It features in the Republic
Commando and Legacy of the Force novels.
Here's
an interview with Jesse about his score and choral music for
RepCom, with a reference to Mando'a.
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!
This
file is the full dictionary/ lexicon of words published so far, updated twice yearly.
© Lucasfilm 2007
This is the grammar
file - © Lucasfilm 2006
It's in Excel spreadsheet format, so you can sort by Mando'a
or by English, depending on wich 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.
I plan to expand the database to at least 2,000 words
- which is more or less the critical mass for a spoken language
- and I'll aim to update it here and on the Lucasfilm Hyperspace
pages a couple of times a year. Please use the grammar guide with
these lexicons.
Please note that much as I would love to deal with individual
queries, my workload is simply too heavy to deal with individual
requests.
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 create, 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. It's for private
invidual 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.
If you want to hear how it sounds, try these MP3 files
recorded by yours truly in the sleazier section of Keldabe.
At
the Keldabe bistro.
The
title crawler from Revenge of the Sith.
Useful phrases to try when
you're nicked for speeding in downtown Keldabe.
The
resol'nare - the six tenets of Mandalorian culture* - as taught
to little Mandos in a rhyme at their buir's knee.
And
here's Mr. Klingon, aka alien languages enthusiast Joel Anderson, interviewing
me about Mando'a.
Verd ori'shya beskar'gam!
(* Translates very roughly as - Education
and armour/ Self-defence, our tribe/Our language, our leader -/All
help us survive.)
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