🔴Star Wars' Sith Language Is The Key To The Galaxy's Past & Future🔴
0Star Wars' language of the Sith may hold the key to the galaxy's past and future. Known as the Old Tongue or ur-Kittât, the language of the Sith has its own written language and unique alphabet, and can also be spoken to a certain degree. That said, it has evolved over the years with different versions and translatable styles. Most recently, 2023's live-action Ahsoka series provided some major clues for the future while offering an easy means to translate the runes featured on-screen.
Existing for nearly as long as the Jedi Order in the Star Wars timeline, the Sith have their own traditions and culture steeped within the dark side of the Force. This includes their very own language and writings. However, there have been clues that ur-Kittât may have originated from a much older language, one sourced outside the known Star Wars galaxy. Keeping that in mind, here's the history of the Sith language in Star Wars explained, as well as how to translate the most recent and canonical version in the established Star Wars canon.
The very first examples of the SIth language can be found as early as Dark Horse Comics' Star WarsTales from the 90s. However, it was largely gibberish up until 2010 when the Sith language became a more official language thanks to Ben Grossblatt, a senior editor who worked on both The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force and Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side. Having multiple linguistic degrees, Grossblatt created an official alphabet and language for the Sith's ur-Kittât. To that end, his process was revealed in full in Star Wars Insider 134, confirming just how intentional he was in its creation:
"I imagined a tough—but not barbarous—language, one that could convey a kind of confident, elegant cruelty. And Sith would have to ring with authority so you could envision it functioning among elites of the dark side the way Latin functioned in Europe for centuries: as a repository of culture and learning. "
Wanting to develop a pronounceable language for the Sith while also having words and letters that would have been feasibly etched on the pedestals and columns of ancient dark temples, Grossblatt succeeded in providing a language and alphabet that had realistic depth. It certainly had more nuance beyond being a two-dimensional and "cartoonish language spoken by the bad guys". However, the Star Wars canon reboot following Disney's purchase in 2012 saw ur-Kittât receiving more of a focus on-screen (along with a visual overhaul).