Jawa Trade Language
- "Utinni!"
- — A Common Jawa Phrase
- "Utto nye usabia atoonyoba?"
- — Another Common Jawa Phrase
The Jawa Trade Language is a variant of the Jawa language. Jawas use scents in their language that are not distinguishable for non-Jawas. To maximize sales, Jawas invented a spoken and written variant that did not require scents. Because Jawas lack the ability to speak Basic and many other languages without assistance, this language is widely accepted by Jawas as the easiest way to communicate verbally with non-Jawas.
The language has been both useful for trading with Jawas and the cause of numerous jokes about them. It is complicated for some races to learn, but as easy as directly translating words for other races.
Contents
Earliest Writings
The Bene Alisimama was discovered and translated in Year 14 by Paul Luz who published the text, his translation, and notes to the Scholar's Guild.[1] It was found inscribed on four large monoliths deep inside an abandoned Jawa fortress in the Dune Sea. The writing and grammar appear to be an archaic version of Jawaese, or at least a primitive written grammar. Luz believed this was because the text was meant to aid an oral story-teller who would supply the implied pheromones that constitute a great deal of the native spoken dialect.
Creation of the Jawa Trade Language
Jawas share a common ancestor with the Tuskens of Tatooine; baobab anthropologists have named these people the Kumumgah. The Kumumgahs split from a once singular tribe and evolved into Tuskens and Jawas. Jawas have been described as having a rather pungent aroma that is a result of their natural skin chemistry. Spoken Jawaese employs this complex system of pheromones alongside a common lexicon to communicate ideas. This accounts for most of the pungent odors associated with Jawas.
A split of the original tribe also resulted in two different languages, Tusken and Jawaese. Jawaese unlike the rough barking of the Tuskens, can be more easily learned by humans. With so few species communicating with these chemical signals and fewer species being able to interpret them, the Jawa clans adapted a variation of their language that did not rely on pheromones. This is what has come to be known as Jawa Trade Language. The language is spoken very quickly and has been described as jabbering.
Lexicon
Numbers
Jawas have a unique numbering system that does not include the number seven. While there are plenty of theories to explain why, Jawas have never explained the reason. Numbers are written as words so 124 for example will be written as gakisewa-kokisewa-yo.
- 1 - Po
- 2 - Ko
- 3 - Kyo
- 4 - Yo
- 5 - Dyo
- 6 - Lyo
- 7 - Does not exist in Jawa arithmetic
- 8 - Ho
- 9 - To
- 10 - Kisewa
- 100 - Gakisewa
- 1,000 - Hakisewa
- 100,000,000 - Jo jo muma
Possible Explanations for the Lack of a Number 7
There are numerous theories as to why the Jawa Trade Language lacks a number 7, but none have yet been proven and Jawas do not provide a clear answer.
Common Words
While most words are able to be directly translatable into the Jawaese alphabet, some words do not follow this rule. To translate those words, the Basic word must first be replaced by its Jawaese counterpart and then the letters are directly translatable to Jawaese.
- Above - tillba
- All - beton
- Always - gomjam
- And - un
- Back - kwa
- Bantha - ugama
- Bargain - bom'loo
- Below - nufuzu
- Blast - shootogawa
- Broken - ko lopo
- Burn - ha'mfoo
- Buy - nye
- Cave - kiizci
- Chant - hazamuzee
- Chief - ayafa gogowa
- City - jubinloo
- Clan - ayafa
- Clean - meeglay
- Cliff - dikwass
- Cloud - kiluyak
- Cold - oko
- Cook - bazzok
- Credit - toineepa
- Curse (Extreme) - Hkeek nkulla
- Curse - Nekkel juuvar obwegadada
- Day - baba
- Desert - waff'mla
- Droid - atoonyoba
- Dune - rillo
- Empire - umpee
- Encampment - cirkoza
- Enemy - hunya
- Equal - ysas
- Far - bok
- Father - jar k'osa gogowa
- Find - dook'wab'ibana
- Fix - tando
- Food - sooga
- For - un
- Friend - eyeta
- Give - opawi
- Go - ashuna
- Good day - ubanya
- Good-bye - ubanya
- Greetings - m'um m'aloo
- Hello - mum m’aloo
- High - ogo
- Hole - m'nuta
- Hot - wass
- How - buja
- I - ikee
- Insurance - cona
- Junk - dooka
- Knife - ratapa
- Large - jar k'osa
- Later - yaytah
- Long ago - kebee'oto
- Make - kenza
- Market - upezzo
- Mine - m'bwa
- Mother - jar k'osa tomo
- Mountain - bopom kova
- Much - mob
- No - nyeta
- Okay - mambay
- Or - ooh
- Power Plant - peetwooza
- Pray - perupa
- Rent - koosa
- Repair - kurruzza
- Return - tuputa
- Run - gogowa
- Rust - rubac
- Sail barge - lo'wassa
- Sale - peekay
- Sand - ton to
- Sandcrawler - ton to reve
- Scanner - dook'wab
- Sea - lika
- Search - dook'wab'bok
- Sell - pukay
- She - tomo
- Ship - reve
- Shoot - shootogawa
- Show - shumeneez
- Sibling - ysas kenza
- Sleep - shanay
- Spare Parts - opakwa
- Speeder - speeda
- Stars - lopima
- Steal - m'tuske
- Stop - sabioto
- Take - go
- Thank you - taa baa
- Thanks - taa baa
- That - mombay
- Them - chikua
- This - loo / nya mombay
- Tomorrow - takiik
- Too - gasha
- Trade - waa
- Up - okka
- Used - usabia
- Vaporator - vapoosza
- Walk - umka
- Want - utto
- Warm - pibboz
- Water - n'lappu
- Weapon - keeza
- Where - ookwass
- Will be - weeza
- Wow, Battle cry, Alert to other jawas, Come here - utinni!
- Yes - ibana
- Yesterday - neng ooka
- You - baa
Common Phrases
Certain common phrases may or may not translate directly.
- Want to buy a used droid? - Utto nye usabia atoonyoba?
- Show me the credits. - Shumeneez un toyneepa.
- This is mine, all mine! - A beton nya mombay m'bwa!
- That is mine. - Mombay m'bwa.
- Hands off! - Togo togu!
- Don't shoot! - Ny shootogawa!
- Give it back! - Tandi kwa!
- Shut up! - Omu'sata!
- I want to trade. - Etee uwanna waa.
- How much for this? - Go mob un loo?
- How much? - Mob un loo?
- Too much. - M'gasha.
- I won't sell. - Ya e'um pukay.
- This is not for sale. - Yanna kuzu peekay.
- Let's make a deal. - Yukusu kenza keena.
- I would like to rent a speeder. - Ikeena mee koosa ha speeda.
- Does it have air-conditioning? - Ushabia namba kee koolee?
- Is this an A6 or full A8 repulsor in-line power plant? - Ikeen nwab ba Ah-lyo ooh Ah-ho peetwooza?
- I will be returning in _____ days. - Ikee weeza tuputa _____ baba.
- I will take the insurance. - Ikee go cona.
- I will not take the insurance. - Ikee nyeta go cona.
- How far to _____? - Kuminee bok cuza _____?
- Do you offer road service? - Kuh kiminay po luza?
- Where is the nearest fuel station? - Ookwass dok pundwa keena?
- Does that include unlimited mileage? - Ogama ho miketa keezo?
