Thread by @kyber_kat

🧵why I’m so excited about master sol’s accented english in the acolyte (& why you should be, too): a thread on linguistics🧵

first of all: accented english has always been present in star wars. & that’s not just because everyone has an accent (yes, everyone). even in a new hope, there are two main accents at play: standard american english (SAE) & received pronunciation (RP). (1/?)

put very simply, SAE is the “classic” american accent (think: luke skywalker) & RP is the “classic” british accent (think: obi-wan kenobi). in most star wars media, characters will use one of these two dialects, with almost all jedi using RP. (2/?)

(quick note: I’m conflating accents with dialects here a little bit for simplicity’s sake, but they’re actually two different things!) (3/?)

in star wars, we can generally assume that the “standard” accent is SAE & that a lot of the linguistic choices are being made from an american perspective & for an american audience. this means that every british actor in star wars has a “nonstandard” accent! (4/?)

one of the reasons that nobody blinks at british accents in star wars is bc they have a high prestige in the US, so we associate “good” traits with them, like education & class. this is likely why most jedi are british; the films want us to make those positive associations. (5/?)

it’s also impossible to have this conversation without talking about whiteness. when I talk about accents & their associations with whiteness, I know that people of all races & ethnicities use all accents. but that doesn’t stop social associations from forming. (6/?)

there are accents & dialects that get associated with whiteness (like RP) and there are accents & dialects that get associated with non-whiteness and foreignness (like, oh, I don’t know, english spoken with a korean accent). (7/?)

unfortunately, POC & foreign accents & dialects tend to have lower social prestige than accents & dialects associated with whiteness. there’s an obvious explanation for that (hint: it’s racism & xenophobia), & those prejudices often slip by unseen and perpetuate inequality. (8/?)

historically, in star wars, human characters tend to use accents & dialects primarily associated with whiteness (like SAE or RP), while alien characters tend to use accents & dialects associated with POC or “foreignness,” at least to an american ear. (9/?)

this is a way that star wars tries to indicate the “otherness” of its aliens to its imagined white & american audience. the films bank on ppl hearing “foreign” accents & drawing upon the ideologies they associate with those accents. foreign accent = not me = alien. (10/?)

you can see how this technique reinforces dangerous perceptions of “foreign” accents & the people that use them. & unfortunately, the alien characters that use these stigmatized accents often embody negative stereotypes real life speakers struggle against every day. (11/?)

but master sol breaks this tradition of accented characters being a) alien, b) othered, and c) stereotyped. his accent isn’t intended as a joke or a lazy writing trick to make him seem “alien” to an audience. & he’s a jedi, too, which has major social prestige. (12/?)

master sol’s accent isn’t a caricature, either. another unfortunate theme in star wars linguistics has been white voice actors “putting on” these foreign accents or dialects, often very badly. (13/?)

Lee Jung-jae is korean, & he’s speaking english with his natural accent. this may seem like a small note, but it really does matter. the way we speak is an intrinsic part of our identity; nobody wants to hear their identity mocked. & when we mock something, we devalue it. (14/?)

(another quick note: I’m not saying that it’s wrong for voice actors to do their work in a variety of different accents & dialects. but I *do* think it’s important that those accents & dialects are used with respect, sensitivity, & *not* as linguistic caricature). (15/?)

master sol is strong, empathetic, emotive, respected, & speaks english with an accent. it’s genuinely so exciting for star wars fans to see this progress happening; it’s a major move forward from the use of accent & dialect in the prequels, & even (at times) the sequels. (16/?)

& within canon, I’m so excited about the linguistic diversity in star wars that master sol represents! the star wars galaxy is full of planets rich with their own cultures & languages. it makes sense that we’d hear galactic basic spoken in a variety of accents & dialects! (17/?)

there are so many people across the world—many of them kids—who love star wars & speak with a stigmatized accent. now, they’ll have a jedi master to look up to that reflects that part of themselves in an empowering way. that kind of thing matters. (18/?)

& maybe master sol will help the rest of us start dismantling some of our own unconscious linguistic prejudice. that’s another reason why representation matters: the more known and seen something is, the more normalized it becomes. & speaking with an accent *is* normal! (19/?)

tl;dr: master sol shows that star wars is moving forward with positive linguistic diversity, which is a breath of fresh air when you consider him against linguistic stereotypes present in past star wars projects. it’s a good thing! we should all be very excited! (20/20)

end note: I studied linguistics in college & wrote my senior thesis on the use of dialect in star wars (specifically TPM), but I don’t consider myself an expert. so, if you’re a Real Linguist reading this & noticed errors, I’m sorry bestie & I promise I did my best!