Star Wars has been around for over 40 years and in that time there have certainly been a lot of debates around the franchise. However, some of the most compelling conversations can surround some of the more mundane topics. At the core of Star Wars today sits the Lucasfilm Story Group, a collection of creatives whose job is to set out the rules of the galaxy far, far away. This includes everything from what stories make up the official canon to the rules of grammar and spelling.
Story Group member Matt Martin is almost always good for an interesting piece of insight into the various corners of the Star Wars universe, and recently he decided to take a moment to clue people in on a word he seemingly sees misspelled frequently. tauntaun. And yes, if you were curious, that's the correct spelling.
If you've ever read the novelization of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back then you probably know exactly how to spell the name of the bipedal pack animals that Luke and Han are riding on Hoth at the beginning of the film. If, however, you've only ever heard the word, then yeah, it could be spelled numerous different ways that would make sense.
In addition to giving fans the proper spelling, he also clues us in to one of the rules of properly spelling the names of various species within the Star Wars universe. Apparently, the names for sentient species are capitalized. However, the names of "creatures" which is to say non-sentient animals, are not capitalized. The interesting exception to this rule being the word "human" which is not capitalized. Even Matt Martin seems confused by that one.
So if you're a Twi'lek or a Mandalorian, you get to capitalize your species, but if you're a tauntaun or a mynock, no such luck. I suppose it all certainly makes some sense. Of course, one assumes that no non-sentient creatures had a say in this decision.
Of course, in the end, Matt Martin wants everybody to know that misspelling a made-up word is not the stoning offense that some might make it seem to be. He's not trying to make people feel bad, just having some fun while also sharing some knowledge.
Generally speaking, there are probably some more important questions regarding the Star Wars universe than spelling, but sometimes it's the little details that make the galaxy far, far, away feel so real. It's nice to know that the story team has really considered those little details as it means they likely are considering all the angles on the bigger topics as well. While the Star Wars story is taking something of a breather on the big screen, it's continuing quite strongly on TV, in books, and inside theme parks.
