Star Wars fans finally discover why Yoda speaks the way he does

Have you ever wondered why Yoda talks in the way that he does?

Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan at all, you’re probably aware of the Jedi character Yoda and his peculiar backward speech pattern.

While most of the world’s languages use ‘subject–object–verb’ or ‘subject–verb–object’ order, Yoda opts for ‘object–subject–verb’.

For context, if you were to say, “I will go to work today," a language like Yoda’s would say, “Go to work today I will”.

"Begun, the Clone Wars have," is one of Yoda's most famous lines, spoken in Attack of the Clones.

It was assumed by Star Wars fans for years that this speech pattern was simply a trait of Yoda’s species. However, an episode of Tales of the Jedi from 2022 debunked this.

The episode focused on Yaddle, another Jedi of Yoda’s species. In the show, the character spoke normally. So, the curious case of Yoda’s speech is up for debate once again.

Now, a new theory posted on Reddit suggests the real reason why Yoda speaks in this way, and it makes complete sense.

“I remember reading about Yoda using an old dialect since he’s near 1000 years old and change is hard and language changes and whatnot,” wrote one Reddit user.

“So it’s possible that Yaddle is just younger than Yoda and is more hip.”

Another user wrote: “Imagine if someone had been alive since the time of Shakespeare and never fully adapted from the syntax of old English. They’ve decided it’s just to emphasise his age.”

On the other hand, another reply posted an alternative theory.

“I heard an explanation a long time ago that his speech pattern is purposeful,” the commenter writes. “It makes it so that whoever he is speaking to has to really listen and contemplate a little bit on what he is actually saying.”

Of course, it’s possible both theories can be correct at the same time. Yoda is simply an old man who speaks in a old timey kind of way.

And because this speech pattern makes people really listen to him, he continues to talk like this instead of adapting to the new language.

Lucasfilm and associated writers have offered different explanations over time, so we’ll have to wait and see if the studio ever confirms the correct theory.