How a woman nicknamed “Grandma Vodka” is behind the invention of the Ewok language from RETURN OF THE JEDI

So many fans are well versed in the stories of their favorite “conlangs” or languages ​​built within their favorite fandoms. The ones people focus on most often are the Star Trek Klingon language and based on JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings language of Quenya, his fictional Elvish language, which was created on the structure and syntax of Finnish. Dothraki has also been a hit since the release of the George RR Martin series, game of Thrones.

But one conlang that doesn’t seem to get much attention is that of the Ewoks in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The film’s sound designer Ben Burtt, known for creating the iconic noises of lightsabers and X-wings, was commissioned by writer-producer George Lucas to come up with a language spoken by the spear-wielding teddy bear-like aliens who aid the heroes of the film to the defeat of the Empire. Unlike his usual sound design duties, however, Burtt had to craft the Ewok language before production so the actors could learn it and director Richard Marquand could pace a scene.

In a 2013 retrospective with MTV (via /Film), Burtt recalled the task of inventing the Ewok language. As you might expect, the designer was much more interested in the sound of language than in a recognizable lexicon. In searching for him, Burtt came into contact with an old woman from a Mongolian tribe who told folk tales in exchange for shots of vodka. This was the legendary Grandma Vodka.

Burtt doesn’t say how he found the woman who would eventually be dubbed Grandma Vodka, but he described her linguistic hearings. She looked for people who could tell folk tales in their native languages ​​and asked for gentle recitations, listening to a certain cadence and tone that she felt sounded Star Wars-y. A woman in her seventies who had just arrived in England from Inner Mongolia caught the attention of Burtt, who was fascinated by her and her way of speaking:

“He’s actually lived in the desert – by our comparative standards – his entire life […] AND [she] he had just arrived and was an immigrant and did not speak English. She would come and talk for us and if she drank a little vodka she was happy to do it.”

Hence the nickname Grandma Vodka. She was, according to Burtt’s recollection, a colorful and animated character; not only did he like her voice, but also her straightforward way of speaking. Burtt recorded Grandma Vodka speaking the Ewok language, distorted her voice, and used some of her voice for the Ewok characters on screen. Notably, she provided some of the voices for Wicket, the film’s most prominent Ewok, physically played by a young Warwick Davis. One can imagine the playful vodka-fueled chats with an elderly Mongolian woman, and Burtt remembers the experience well. He said:

“She was so expressive, she had a good laugh, she had a singsong voice…and she really was a radio ham, I guess that’s the way to put it. […] And we got some wonderful tapes of her, and a lot of the tapes we got from her were used for Wicket.”

Burtt said he “listened to” the languages ​​of Sri Lanka, mainland India and Tibet to find the sounds he wanted for Ewoks. The spoken language of the little creatures, although it did not possess a vocabulary or syntax, contained speech elements of all of the above languages. It’s a collection of sounds rather than an actual conlang.

Burtt has also said that he prefers the vocal intonations of older women, stating that “[t]vocally, as he gets older, he has a little more character; it becomes hoarse, more serious. […] I found that these converted very well into alien creatures.”

Sadly, Burtt was ultimately dismayed to learn that Ewok masks wouldn’t be terribly articulated, leaving the aliens’ lips and faces largely immobile. This required Burtt to dub into his own Ewok language while the creatures faced away from the camera. The many Ewok actors, however, were able to physically deliver their lines, making their language perfectly convincing.

It is quite fortuitous that “Nonna Vodka” crossed paths with these directors. She has definitely made her mark on the franchise.

source: /film