Back on Earth
On Earth, translation has also been used to ensure the films’ messages are accurately conveyed and there are a multitude of different translations for terms and characters in the Star Wars films depending on the language and region.
For example, in the original Star Wars film, the character Darth Vader’s name was translated as ‘Dark Vador’ in the French version. In some cases, entire phrases and dialogues are translated differently depending on the region. For example, in the Spanish version of the films, the phrase “May the Force be with you” is translated as “Que la fuerza te acompañe,” which directly translates to “May the Force accompany you”. Even the title of the first film trilogy varied depending on where you were watching it. While most languages kept the key terms ‘war’ and ‘stars’ in their titles (La guerre des étoiles in French, Krieg der Sterne in German, for example), the Italian translation refers to the wars (in plural) of the stars (Guerre stellari) and the Spanish translation to the war of the galaxies (La guerra de las galaxias).
The German translation referred to the Millennium Falcon as Rasender Falke (Speeding Falcon), and the French went for Le Millennium Condor (Millennium Condor). The French translators didn’t stop there though: Han Solo became Yan Solo, Chewbacca was known as Chiktabba or Chiko and, most puzzlingly, Jabba the Hutt’s name was translated as Jabba le Forestier (Jabba the Woodsman).
