Ewokese/Legends

Ewokese was the language spoken by the Ewoks. Ewokese was a primitive language, so despite its isolation, C-3PO was able to understand. Ewokese had no written form. Ewoks were able to learn and speak other languages, including Basic.

Ewokese was related to other tongues on the Forest Moon of Endor. Many linguists suggested that the language developed from the Yuzzum language, which suggests a possible relationship between the Ewoks and Yuzzums. Most Ewoks understood Yuzzum, and it was through that tongue that C-3PO was able to communicate with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. Moreover, Ewoks had no difficulty communicating with Duloks, suggesting that the Dulok language may have been a dialect of Ewokese.

Vocabulary

 * ee chee wa maa = Oh my goodness
 * begoopa = (see yeha)
 * chak = yes
 * den = no
 * na goo = stop
 * coatee = celebrate
 * dengar = attack
 * doo = night
 * glowah = glory
 * goo = light
 * goonda = food
 * sku = hello
 * yeha = goodbye
 * yun yum = very good
 * kvark = oh-no
 * lurdo = loser
 * nuv = love
 * too = fight
 * yah wah = power
 * yub nub = hurray

Notable non-native speakers of Ewokese

 * C-3PO
 * Charal
 * PD-28
 * Dr. Raegar

Behind the scenes
The lyrics of the Ewok celebration song heard in the epilogue of the original edition of Return of the Jedi is the source for most of the Ewok vocabulary listed above.

Some have noted that certain phrases uttered by the Ewoks resemble real languages sampled from Earth, such as Filipino (the language of the Philippines) and Swedish ("Ngayon, puno daw 'to!", said when C-3PO is being worshipped, means "Now, this is a leader!" in Filipino. Also, "Wala na, wala na, patay," said when an Ewok was killed, means "No more, no more, dead.") Other phrases appear to be modified English (two Ewoks worshipping C-3PO seem to say something similar to "He is wise" and "As I am short.")

In the Star Wars: Ewoks animated series the episode Rampage of the Phlogs features Malani singing a song in Ewokese.

Appearances

 * All instances in which Ewoks appear.