Like so many gems of the Star Wars universe, Aurebesh can be traced back to West End Games’ “Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game,” which began its run in 1987. With Lucasfilm’s approval, graphic artist Stephen Crane developed the alphabet in 1993 as part of his work on the “Star Wars Miniatures Battles” tie-in. He based Aurebesh on an early scene in “Return of the Jedi” where Darth Vader’s shuttle is scanned. After copying down all the symbols appearing on the computer screen at that moment, Crane built them out into a working alphabet for use in West End Games’ various projects.
The language caught on quickly. It was made official after appearing in “The Phantom Menace,” and even though many prominent Aurebesh instances were wiped from canon after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the alphabet has continued to be featured prominently in the new continuity.
While Aurebesh is certainly the most common and well-known alphabet in the Star Wars universe, it isn’t the only one. Other systems like Dishabesh and Domabesh have been created over the years to add dimension and texture to the universe, showing that there’s far more than just one written language in the galaxy. But when push comes to shove, Aurebesh is still the primary code of Star Wars, so make sure you know your aurek besh creshes.
