No tongue or lip movement was required to speak Shyriiwook; the jaw was typically locked open, with sound emanating from the throat and back of the mouth.
Language. The most common Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. However, other dialects used by Wookiees from Kashyyyk are Thykarann and Xaczik. Wookiees are capable of understanding Galactic Basic, but generally none are able to speak it because of the structure of Wookiee vocal cords.
Chewbacca speaks a dialect called Shyriiwook, while other Wookiees may speak either Thykarann or Xaczik. Shyriiwook is the most common to understand, however, as both Han Solo and Rey can decipher Chewie's grunts.
What it does mean, though, is that a Wookiee can't articulate Galactic Basic, as they're only capable of their sound-based languages. However, one Wookiee proved speaking human language was possible, just seemingly not in any way that could be taught.
They were most commonly found on under-developed worlds that did not have an expansive power grid, or in mobile military operations. They often made a low honking noise that sounded like the word "gonk," resulting in the nickname gonk droids or simply gonks. This form of droidspeak was referred to as "Gonkian."
Former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano once served as the Padawan learner to the Jedi Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. A respected leader and warrior attuned to the light side of the Force, Ahsoka grew into a formidable fighter before the Empire's reign changed the course of galactic history.
It translated to Basic as "fodder." It could also mean "nonsense," such as "the poodoo coming out of your mouth" or "that's a bunch of poodoo"; something of low quality, e.g. "Buy new droid. This one poodoo."; or refer to someone or something that a person disliked, or a contemptible person.
The voice is the creation of Ben Burtt, the sound designer of the film series. Chewie's vocalizations were created from actual field recordings of bears, lions, badgers, and other animals. Enjoy a year of unlimited access to The Atlantic—including every story on our site and app, subscriber newsletters, and more.
She befriended a nine-year-old Corellian boy named Han, one of the many children Shrike employed as thieves and pickpockets. Dewlannamapia taught Han to speak and understand the Wookiee language of Shyriiwook.
Although a rare phenomenon, Force-sensitive Wookiees were possible, and some joined the ranks of the Jedi, becoming a source of great pride for their people. Such Wookiees included the Jedi Master Arkoff, Jedi Knight Burryaga Agaburry, and the youngling Gungi.
His answer was to create a new race called Ewoks, which is "Wookiee" with the syllables reversed and altered to resemble the name of a Native American people, the Miwok.
A New Hope's marketing material pegged Chewbacca's age at 200, which was confirmed in Solo: A Star Wars Story (at which point in the story he was 190). It also beggars the question of how long Wookiees as a whole are expected to live. There's a canon answer, though it's buried fairly deeply.
Chewbacca's voice was created by the original films' sound designer, Ben Burtt, from a mix of recordings of walruses, lions, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers in Burtt's personal library. The individual recordings were mixed at different ratios for Chewbacca's different utterances.
Chewbacca, of course, is a Wookiee, not quite a dog. But as it turns out, he was directly inspired by George Lucas's beloved Alaskan malamute, Indiana.
A Wookiee has a standard lifetime of 400 years. So as Chewie only aged 30 years between Episode VI and Episode VII. He is still approximately the mid life of his species. Now, some humans do start to gray before they hit the middle of their lifespans, but it's possible that Wookies don't share that aging feature.
Shaggy giants from an arboreal world, the tall and commanding Wookiee species is an impressive sight to even the most jaded spacer. Despite their fearsome and savage countenance, Wookiees are intelligent, sophisticated, loyal and trusting.
