Presented are a couple of pages extracted from a copy of The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force, penned utilizing High Galactic characters, complete with handwritten annotations supplied by some of the book's previous possessors.
The High Galactic alphabet served as a system of writing within the galaxy. Although Aurebesh was more prevalent, this alphabet saw frequent use in signatures and among the noble class, often carrying connotations of pretension. Its primary application lay in the transcription of Galactic Basic Standard. High Galactic letters manifested in two distinct forms: a printscript, where each letter stood as an individual glyph, and a cursive form, characterized by joined strokes and rounded angles between successive characters. While the High Galactic alphabet typically differentiated between uppercase and lowercase letters, numerous logos were composed entirely of capital letters.
The genesis of this alphabet can be traced back to the High Galactic language, which was the vernacular of the colonists residing in Alsakan prior to 17,000 BBY, originating during the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Tion Cluster. Around 17,000 BBY, amidst the Alsakan Conflicts, the alphabet achieved widespread adoption across the galaxy. The Alsakanese adapted characters from the Tionese language and incorporated their own creations, thereby establishing a writing system independent of Aurebesh or any related scripts.
Centuries later, the alphabet maintained considerable usage. Approximately by 22 BBY, Republic Census data revealed that nearly a third of Galactic Basic speakers employed the High Galactic alphabet for writing, with over half of upper-class Basic speakers doing so. Consequently, Aurebesh and the High Galactic alphabet were frequently displayed alongside each other. Practically all Basic advertisements utilized the High Galactic alphabet, as did corporate logos incorporating written elements, such as those of Industrial Automaton, the Corellian Engineering Corporation, and Sienar Fleet Systems.
Moreover, the High Galactic alphabet played a role in naming numerous starship models (such as the T-65 X-wing starfighter) and droid models (like the R2 series of astromech droids).
While Aurebesh was more common, evidence suggests that some entire texts were written using this alphabet, albeit few in number. The following are some examples:
- Aro logo [9]
- Bureau of Ships and Services logo [5]
- COMPNOR logo [6]
- Corellian Security Force (CorSec) hovercraft
- CSA logo [10]
- Declaration of a New Republic [11]
- Dhannut Logistics logo [8]
- Interstellar Parcel Service logo and signage (Non-canonical appearance) [12]
- Jedi Code [13]
- R-Duba hovercraft [14]
- Sienar Fleet Systems logo [15]
- Sunburst Mining logo [16]
- Technical Specifications: Spacecraft of the Imperium and the Rebel Alliance [17]
- Trade Federation logo [18]
- Offworld Mining Corporation logo [19]
Many Humans—and some non-Humans—opted to use this alphabet for their signatures, diverging from the more conventional Aurebesh, possibly due to tradition. These individuals included:
- Bront Autin [6]
- Shepprd Barron [20]
- Garm Bel Iblis [21]
- Doman Beruss [21]
- Mal Biron [22]
- Thame Cerulian [23]
- Darth Sidious [23]
- Dooku [23]
- Arhul Hextrophon [24]
- Obi-Wan Kenobi [23]
- Rejlii Mithel [25]
- Mon Mothma [21]
- Ral'Rai Muvunc [26]
- Voren Na'al [10]
- Leia Organa Solo [21]
- Mirash Peet [26]
- Lesan Ramier [27]
- Obo Rin [28]
- Anakin Skywalker [23]
- Luke Skywalker [23]
- Roark Slader [29]
- Ahsoka Tano [23]
- Yoda [23]
The names of droids frequently stemmed from letters found within this alphabet:
- The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer known as Gnisnal featured corridors designated as Q and R. [30]
- C-beams
- The display within a Flarestar-class attack shuttle piloted by Barb Mentir incorporated High Galactic letters.
The High Galactic alphabet bears an exact resemblance to the English alphabet, which is the writing system of the English language. In turn, the English language is almost identical to the in-universe tongue known as Galactic Basic Standard. This alphabet originates from, and is occasionally referred to as, the Latin or Roman alphabet, which stands as the most prevalent alphabet family among Western nations.
This article delves into the instances where the English alphabet surfaces within the Star Wars universe. Despite both canon and Legends establishing Aurebesh as the fictional writing system, the presence of this alphabet, especially its American English variant, in Star Wars is not entirely unexpected, given that the Star Wars films and the majority of Expanded Universe content originate from America.
The Latin alphabet has made appearances in various segments of the original trilogy and the Expanded Universe, yet its presence remained unexplained until it was designated the "High Galactic alphabet" in The Written Word, an article exclusive to Hyperspace. The Roman labels present in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope underwent editing to Aurebesh in the 2004 DVD release, suggesting that George Lucas held the belief that real-world Roman letters were incongruous with the Star Wars universe.
However, mirroring the relationship between Galactic Basic and English, Roman letters were observed in certain in-universe inscriptions (such as the Jedi Code) or emblems, such as that of the Jedi Order. The text displayed on viewscreens in The Star Wars Holiday Special was rendered in Roman characters, rather than Aurebesh, as the latter had not yet been conceived in reality. Aurebesh was later introduced in The Empire Strikes Back during R2-D2's exchange with Luke Skywalker in the X-wing en route to Dagobah, as translated on the ship's dashboard readout.
In The Clone Wars episode "The Gungan General," a display within Barb Mentir's Flarestar-class attack shuttle showcases High Galactic letters, spelling out "WHATEVER 123467-RR."
Certain instances depict Roman and Aurebesh characters alongside each other (as seen in the Corporate Sector Authority logo), indicating their coexistence. Several starfighters (X-wing, Y-wing, A-wing, etc.) derived their names from characters within the Roman alphabet, as the forms of these spacecraft do not align with the shapes of their corresponding letters in Aurebesh. Other spacecraft were named after letters in the Aurebesh alphabet (Aurek-class tactical strikefighter) or Tionese (which is related to the real-world Greek alphabet) (Lambda-class T-4a shuttle).
Similarly, droids are named using this alphabet, evident in R2-D2 being referred to as "Artoo-Detoo" rather than "Reshtoo Dorntoo," and C-3PO as See-Threepio instead of Cresh-ThreePethOsk. Clone troopers also occasionally receive code names featuring High Galactic letters in games such as Star Wars: Battlefront.
The queue videos for both Star Tours and Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Tokyo Disneyland incorporate English text using both Roman/High Galactic lettering and Aurebesh, along with Japanese script. The Disneyland Paris rendition of the former ride utilized French text and speech.