How does Han Solo understand what Chewbacca is saying? I'm not insinuating that Han is an idiot. It's just that he seems like he'd be all street smarts and no book smarts. Do you know how much studying and immersion that it takes in order to properly converse in and to comprehend a foreign language? Maybe some people get it better then others, but I took 5 years of French and I don't know a god damn thing about that language. Why do they keep calling me "les incompetents"? Did they ever make a Rosetta Stone series for Wookie? Because I sure as hell have never seen that one.
I don't even get how that would start out. Welcome to Level One for Wookie. Here is your first lesson: "agggggggrrrrrrhjjj" means "hello". "Fjchhcxhknvsryjm" means "goodbye". "Hyresvhjbf vfhjcdk gdyh" means "thank you". "Hyjdryh bddfgfg ggggggrrrr hhiuuuuugggrr ssssrrrhghh" means "did you see that chick behind the counter at the last space port we stoppped at? What a slut. She wasn't even wearing a bra. I could see her nipples plain as day right through her shirt. What do you mean you got her number? Well I would have, but I had to take a wicked dump cause we've been flying around space for 16 hours and you never stop when I have to go. Then you said we didn't have time to linger because we had shipments to run and a bounty hunter on our ass. You always bag the slutty ones. When's it going to be Chewbacca's time? Ok ok. Sorry I got mad. Did you at least ask if she has a friend for me?" And that's only the first lesson! We have barely even gotten started and I'm already confused. Man, Wookie is tough.
I just think that would be a real challenge because every god damn thing Chewbacca says sounds the exact same. At least to my human ears. Maybe that's because we assume that Han Solo is human. Even though he looks like us, he lives in a galaxy far, far away. He could be anything. For all we know he was born with the ability to speak and understand Wookie and it just comes natural to him. As natural as you and I breathe without thinking about it. How convenient then that he became best friends with Chewie. If you're going to spend your entire life cruising around the galaxy it an old hunk of junk you might as well do it with your best pal. And since it's just the two of you for all of those lonely hours, you have to be able to talk about sports, food, women, farts and movies. It would certainly make for a very long trip if you couldn't tell the difference between "fheyrehnvgujj gghrrhhsh" (which means "if you put on Air Supply one more time I swear to God, I will break your spine in half") and "ghghgeyeyssgsgbbnndnd" (which means "I completely disagree. The Foo Fighters are not overrated. In fact, I think they are one of the most influential American Rock bands to emerge from the Grunge scene.") Because heaven forbid you make the Wookie angry. One false interpretation could lead to you being stuffed down the trash compacter or becoming permanent cargo smuggled underneath the hidden floor panels.
I used to give Han Solo a lot of shit because he's a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy. He's kind of selfish and seems like a guy who would turn you in for a couple of bucks. But over the course of time you realize that he does have a heart and a smile resides behind that tough exterior. And watching his interaction with Chewbacca shows how much he cares. He could have easily thrown down a deal breaker with Chewy - either you learn English or we aren't friends anymore. But he didn't do that. Instead he made the effort to learn Wookie so that Chewy would be more relaxed in a unfamiliar territory. I don't know if you noticed, but there are a hell of a lot more people in the Universe that speak English than those that speak Wookie. Of course there was C3PO, but who would want to have that nerd as their only friend? That's how it might have ended up had Han not taken it upon himself to learn Chewy's native tongue. Well, that's what's in my head today. So I have to ask you - "gggaaarrrgghghghvnvnffggthd?" That's Wookie for "what's in your head?"
- pookon -
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