Star Wars: The Real Reason Yoda Talks Backwards
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He's one of the coolest Jedi masters in "Star Wars" history, not just because of how wise and wickedly powerful he is, but also the topsy-turvy way in which his teachings are delivered. When Master Yoda made his debut in "The Empire Strikes Back," audiences were caught up in what would become a truly magical character, not just in the franchise, but in cinema history. Judged him by his size, we did, but Dagobah's quizzical recluse brought a fantastical spin on science fiction's traditional little green men.
In regards to the character's conversation skills, though, that was a masterstroke from George Lucas, who killed two womp rats with one blaster by establishing Yoda's non-human nature alongside the very human teachings he passes on to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
In the sacred texts (also known as "The Star Wars Archive"), George Lucas explained that part of Yoda's backstory involved tweaking how he spoke. "Mostly we had these strange languages and voices that were created out of foreign languages. I didn't want to go through a whole movie where everybody is reading subtitles," Lucas explained. "He had a lot of dialogue. So, I had to come up with a language that was alien, but still understandable." The creator of the now-iconic galaxy far, far away was looking for a tactic that would ensure the viewer could decipher and take to heart the lessons the Jedi master had to pass on. "So, I reversed everything around. The language was designed to make you focus on the boring, philosophical lessons."
Yoda speaks funny out of respect for his former Master
While it might have just been a storytelling shortcut in George Lucas' mind, the newly appointed know-it-all of all things "Star Wars," Dave Filoni, revealed that Frank Oz, one of Yoda's co-creators and the iconic character's puppeteer, had a different idea as to why the character speaks the way he does.
Speaking to Nerdist following the debut of Disney+'s anthology series, "Tales of the Jedi," Filoni remembered encountering the issue while working with Bryce Dallas Howard, who voiced Yaddle, a female from Yoda's species who speaks in a normal, traditional speech pattern. Making sure not to slip up on "Star Wars" lore, Howard asked, "'Does she speak backwards?' I'm like, 'No, I don't think so. I think that's a Yoda thing.'" Filoni recalled. "Frank Oz told me once that Yoda speaks that way specifically in honor of his own master. That was what he had thought about it."
The character Filoni is referring to is Jedi Master N'Kata Del Gormo, who trained Yoda in the Force, though the character is no longer a part of the franchise's official canon along with a multitude of other characters and events that existed in the now defunct "Star Wars" Expanded Universe (now renamed "Legends") — which is too bad. A Jedi Master that belongs to a race of snake-like aliens and has four arms and four legs is pretty awesome. Perhaps now that Leslye Headland has dipped into "Legends" in creating "The Acolyte" (even down to the show's name), in the future learn more about Yoda's teacher, we could?