Star Wars...in the Navajo Language

[Subdeacon Joe]

Coming soon.

 

PHOENIX (Reuters) -
The largest Native American tribe in the United States is seeking to
dub the classic 1977 movie "Star Wars" movie in Navajo as a way to help preserve its traditional language.

Fluent Navajo speakers have been invited for a casting call in Window Rock in northern Arizona on Friday and Saturday to dub the roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and others, tribal officials said.

Manuelito Wheeler, the director of the Navajo Nation Museum, said he first came up with the idea 13 years ago as a way to preserve the consonant-rich Navajo language, believed to be spoken by about 170,000 people, according to government figures.

"We thought this would be a provocative and effective
way to help try to preserve the language and at the same time preserve
the culture," Wheeler told Reuters. "What better movie to do this than
‘Star Wars?'"

Wheeler said he believes the popular science fiction
movie will resonate with the Navajo people with its universal theme of
good versus evil.

[Prof. Fuller Bullspit]

That would be interesting!

[Utah Bob #35998]

Yah'eh-teh'

 

Very Cool!

[Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L]

That's great

 

Code talkers: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-4.htm

 

GG ~

[Noz]

Refresh my memory. Why is Navajo so difficult to decode?

[Utah Bob #35998]

Refresh my memory. Why is Navajo so difficult to decode?

There was very little reference material available to translate Navajo into English at that time. much less Japanese. The Japanese were no doubt very confused at hearing the language over the airwaves and probably didn't even recognize it as a native Americam language.

The Marines weren't actually the first to use Indians as code talkers. The Army used Choctaws in WWI.