Why Star Wars Was Dubbed into the Navajo Language | Native America | PBS
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- čas přidán 8. 11. 2023
- Official Website: to.pbs.org/3L5EoQm | #NativeAmericaPBS
May the Fourth is a special night at the West Winds Drive-In in Glendale Arizona where Manny Wheeler is screening Star Wars, dubbed into Navajo. It's one of many innovative ways of preserving Native languages. Stream Native America Season 2 on pbs.org and the PBS App: to.pbs.org/3L5EoQm
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#movies #film #navajo
NATIVE AMERICA
Season 2 of Native America is a groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Indian Country. Building on the success of the first season, this four-part Native directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous world. Smashing stereotypes, it follows the brilliant engineers, bold politicians, and cutting-edge artists who draw upon Native tradition to build a better 21st century. Each hour reveals a core tenet of Native heritage: the power of Indigenous design, how language and artistry fuel the soul, the diverse ways that Native women lead, and the resilience of the warrior spirit. Brought to life with dynamic stories of the here and now, these thematic episodes launch an active dialogue between past and present. They reveal the foundational beliefs and traditions that Native Americans carry forward to this day, even as they live fully modern lives. - Zábava
Translating famous movies is such a great idea for the archival process. A text with one script that's already been translated into so many languages is like a modern-day rosetta stone.
I hope they keep this going for a whole bunch more movies!
There's no danger of needing another rosetta stone.
@flaggerify except for the like 95% of languages in risk of disappearing? I don't remember the exact number but it's something like 6700 languages out of 7000 are at risk of disappearing
@@nathannabong5533 By disappearing you mean no one will continue to use them. There will still be ample books and records about them.
@@flaggerify for the main languages of most countries yes, but there are so many countries that have barely any literature or local language resources. Ex. I'm in Guinea right now, the government language is French. There are 3 main languages throughout the country, completely unrelated, and about a dozen more languages just in a pocket of the country. The country is about the size of Colorado and there's a lot of poverty. There just isn't much money to be made for writing in a local language because at best it reaches a third of the country. And at worst just a tiny population. Any resources of one languages I've found has been like 3 throughout the history of a country that's been colonized for a long long time. Not to mention how much knowledge was destroyed in colonial rule. Anyways no hate at all towards you or your comment but there sre seriously tonsss of underdocumented languages that have barely any written works and would be impossible to get back just with the resources available
This is like asking why was Star Wars dubbed in any other language.
To understand and enjoy the film… duhhh
My wife is Navajo and it’s her first language. Her father only speaks Navajo. So happy for this.
if you guys ever have kids i hope your wife can pass the language down, its so valuable to keep around
literally a new hope
Found the best comment thread on this video 😁 like muffin above me said, it literally is a New Hope and it's great to see
@@lurjiit’s really not. No disrespect but it’s just a language dude. It’s not that important. It will fade out like other past languages have.
@@MayorMcheese12 are you serious 💀 even extinct languages from long ago are invaluable for helping us learn about the histories and cultures of the people that used them and that knowledge is never useless to have
We have something similar here in New Zealand. They've been dubbing the Disney princess movies into Māori - starting with Moana, then The Lion King and Frozen. Each one is a big event, and Disney adds them to Disney+ so everyone can see them. I hope something similar can be arranged with these productions.
that's so cool! especially since they're uploaded to D+ as well! I might need to go put that Moana version on right now!!
@@ccorvid I don't know if it's available outside of NZ, but I hope it is.
@@AndrewMcColl it is available in U.S. :)
@@shannonsmith6719 huzzah!
Yea but there are more maori people in newzealand than native Americans in the usa if you count by percentage of the population at last
I am not a Native American but I am so glad to see the tribes across North America finding themselves and reconnecting with their heritage.
It would be awesome if my tribe did this. We are the Houma, a cousin to the Choctaw, but we are not Federally recognized, despite residing in Louisiana pre Columbus. I am happy to see my brothers and sisters get things like this - For the Navajo and our Maori siblings across the ocean. We all stand together
If there is a group of fans it could be done. It will take a lot of work but it can be done
I hope so too
Similar issue in the UK, where people of Celtic decent are restoring their ancestral language; Gaelic.
I'm loving the resurgence of almost lost languages... how wonderful! I love Welsh and I'm glad to see more people are learning to speak it. I visited Wales in the mid-90s and didn't notice a whole lot of Welsh... glad to see that more signs, etc. are in Welsh. I assume the same holds in Ireland, Scotland, etc.
@@EricaGamet the original Shaman King manga based anime is one of only two anime shows to be dubbed into the Irish language. Along with Disney’s Stitch.
Go raibh maith agat (thank you ) Iwas about to say the same thing in a comment if no one else had done.
Gaelic is not the ancestral language of the Britons lol
The Celtic languages of Britain are Brithonic languages, not Gaelic. Scottish is the exception, as it came from Ireland, replacing the native Pictish language in Scotland.
While none of the Native Americans who played Apache Warriors in the John Ford film, ''Fort Apache'' [1948], [with John Wayne and Henry Fonda] got screen credit, they were all played by Navajo men.
When working out of Page, AZ on a David Duchovny movie, ''Evolution,'' [2001] on location, I spoke with a Navajo man who introduced himself as a Marine Code Talker. I had a Marine Corps front license plate on my truck. We talked about the service we'd shared -- a generation apart, and I told him the Marines are still proud of their Code Talker heroes. This elder told me the film ''Fort Apache'' was considered a Comedy Classic by Navajo people, because the guy they hired to play an Apache war leader kept cracking sarcastic jokes in the Navajo language whenever the sound track required ''Indian sounding dialog.''
Today, 10 NOV 2023, is the Marine Corps' 248th Birthday.
Semper Fi and Semper Paratus! Have been on shoots in Monument Valley and the Navajo Film Board makes it easy and pleasant! And lots of locals get work in the process. Iconic landscape! 🫶😎✌️
@@gus473 Semper Fi -- Do or Die. And Semper Paratus to our Coast Guard mates who got us to the beach always. The Commanding Officer of VMA513 when we were with the 1st Marine Air Wing in the WestPac, was LtCol R.A. Gustofson. Any relation?
I don’t know what UFN means, but I can say there was at least Marines birthday ball this year in SoCal. I know because my son is a Navy corpsman with the FMF and attended that ball at a Native American casino hotel. He shared a few pictures so I asked if it was in Las Vegas like last year because I recognized the hotel branding. Nope, at a SoCal Native American casino.
@@brookeking8559 The acronym UFN means Until Further Notice. However my information was faulty, and I have edited the above comment. Thanks for your son's service. We love our Devil Docs.
This is a great thing. I went to high school in Page. I was also an extra in Evolution.
The Navajo language is one of America's greatest treasures. It helped us win ww2 as a secret unbreakable code because of how loyal the Navajo people were to the U.S. and their bravery in ww2. Thank you.
My favorite movie in windtalker language epic thanks to all who helped dubbed this classic
It says something when natives, who's whole culture was nearly destroyed by imperialism, still chose The Empire as their favored faction. People can just sense that it's the new Republic, that is truly evil.
I remember, great story in history really.
@@phoenixkarlaz I love languages, so I'll help you out a little here you poor sweet summer child because "dead language" doesn't mean "not used" and I guess I can see how it's easy to misunderstand that, especially when you don't take the Vatican into account when you make comments about dead languages. What dead language means is that new words aren't being added, it's not evolving naturally like a natlang (natural language) does. It doesn't mean "no one speaks it" which might be why all of the many languages who have their roots in Latin, such as English as an example, don't "complain" about there not being new additions to the language. It's because you're already typing in a language that had that natural divergence.
As for "no one is stopping them" I'm just gonna hope you have never read a history book in order to be this level of ignorant because if you have had a United States history class at all and are still saying such ridiculous things, that's just pathetic. The massive loss of languages in the United States was something I learned when I was eight back in the 90's, you need to get with the times and come out of your cave, or out from under your rock, or whatever horrible life decision you have made to choose to be this abysmally ignorant.
So true, an awesome historic people who are tied to this land
I'm Cherokee and Chocktaw myself, and I'm very happy that this was done for any of the native people.
way back in 1983 when Return of the Jedi made its debut, I heard that a tribe in Africa was represented by Lando's co-pilot as he spoke their language, and even though there were no subtitles for what he said, that tribe understood him, and it wasn't just gibberish.
That is so cool. Bringing people the opportunity to watch Star Wars in their native tongue!!!!!!!
Thank you @PBS for sharing this story. And Manny Wheeler, if you're reading this, you've done something truly meaningful and wonderful.
This is my local drive in theater and I remember being so excited when I heard that they were doing this! I hope they continue to do this with other films.
Congrats. I was also thinking, I hope they do Empire and Jedi too. Especially since Empire is considered by many to be the best in the series.
This is amazing, made me tear up watching. I was 9 years old when Star Wars was released, i saw it opening night and it blew my mind. I’m so happy to see these Navajo kids get to see this film in their native language. ❤
I was also 9! Great ages for the trilogy: 9, 12, and 15.
This is awesome! We have a similar initiative in Aotearoa New Zealand with Disney movies redone in our indigenous language te reo Māori. Lots of parallels between our cultures
Did they do moana and lilo and stitch
@@androognoix1685moana has been done in māori, not sure ab lilo
This explains why it's in my recommended :)
it's a shame to see the map of America with it's tribal totems representing their languages just fade out at the end of the piece there. Just shows you what happens if things like languages get lost to time and modern ways.
I have a Navajo dictionary at home...it certainly isn't an easy language to learn but hearing it spoken the way it is via the medium of Star Wars...it's quite an amazing thing to hear.
How beautiful is that ...
can you imagine if they also do LOTR ????? .. just thinking about it gave me chills ..
May The Force/Fourth Be With You 💕🙏🏾
That would be amazing!
While most people dislike the process of dubbing into English, I think examples like this show how important dubbing in general can be.
I really hope the Navajo language can flourish and be preserved forever. Too many languages have been lost forever, but there is “a new hope” in the young of today. Some tribes have been expanding the use of the language of their people successfully. The Salish people have a great program of preserving language and expanding it to the very young through classes and instruction by the elders.
This is just pure beauty. It is wonderful and brought tears to my eyes to see this. I am not native, but I feel - this is the way.
i hope they continue to dub more movies in navajo for the future, not only star wars ones, but also from the MCU, Jurasic Park, Harry Potter, Anime,... it would be incredible!
Star Wars is a story that transcends language, culture and history.
Much more mate, much more..
that is the exact definition of "classic"
like Le Pétit Prince and Pinocchio
@@FlagAnthem , kind of, in a way mate..
STAR WARS is much more, I mean so much more than anyone could possibly fathom. In one way or another every single soul on this planet has had an event in their lives similar to that of the characters we grew up with from a galaxy far far away..
It's why we feel a special relative connection with not just them but with what happened to them, and it's because of what happened to them and the actions that they do is what inspires us to do better.
It's children's drivel.
@@josephticuswar4008 it’s the same thing as every single important piece of mythology. star wars is not ‘SO MUCH MORE’ than other important stories just because it sold a lot of action figures.
I can totaled relate to how they feel about the spirituality of Star Wars. I remember when it first came out and it hit me like a powerful truth that stuck to this day! 🥰
Seeing the happiness on the faces of the adults is heartwarming. I've been told my whole life that my father's people were part Cherokee Choctaw but, being 3 generations away, I never learned the language(s). Plus, I look like my mother's people: white all the way back to the Mayflower. I wish Native American languages were offered in schools.
While I was not fortunate enough to grow up around the Navajo Nation I have come to love its wisdom, respect for our Mother Earth, and its emphasis on family and family centered culture. This recognition of the value of their struggle for existence is long overdue. I hope it encourages every Navajo child to become a member of the resistance and become fluent in Navajo before the wisdom and power is lost.
Did you want to bet on that? I'm sure their casinos will let you.
I originally read your comment as grouping all Natives in one stereotypical box and I typed out a reactive response to that because I have seen a lot of people make this mistake, but on re-reading your comment I realize you weren't saying some stuff. Apologies if you saw that comment. I get kind of emotional about people misrepresenting groups of people, but I realized you weren't.
This is brilliant.
Cultural language matters.
Cultural tradition is vitally important to any community.
this brought tears to my eyes. So very glad to see that the language and traditions are being renewed. such a great way to bring the language to life for the young people. I hope they can dub many more movies and bring a resurgance of not only Navajo but other native languages
This is a news report but it feels like a full Documentary. It was well done and very emotional.
I’m Mexican I only know Spanish and English but Navajo language is something I’ve always wanted to learn but sadly I don’t have any friends that know it to teach me here in Texas but I’m really happy that they did STARWARS in the Navajo language
I’m a big SW NERD
Language is so very important. Even though I only speak English I love hearing other languages. It gives people the chance to interact with media either for the first time or in another way. Their survival is so very important.
I have no native heritage, but seeing the faces of those people watch this classic epic spoken in their language is so beautiful
I can't even begin to express how awesome this is and how elated I am to learn that this was dubbed in Navajo. Many of the ancient languages need to be preserved so that future generations can know their own people's history.
I'm wondering if there is a copy of this Navajo-dubbed version available to stream somewhere? (I would love to watch Episode 4 dubbed in Navajo!)
Probably ask the Navajo Nation Museum or check at Cool Runnings
the Code talkers movie should be done in Navajo
That would rock...
I don’t know Navajo but I can see the love on the faces of those who do as they watch Star Wars…and that love binds all Star Wars fans together.
It's not only love of language. A people will love their language if they thrive with it financially...all the rest will follow...
Mmm. The Japanese, Saudis, Chinese, Finns, beg to differ. They all thrive despite speaking rare or difficult languages (not English), but most importantly, they were not displaced, confined, systematically discriminated against and almost genocided inside their own countries. Aren't you aware that Native Americans became citizens only in 1924, in 1948 they still hadn't full right to vote, and still are a target for voter suppression?
There are way more factors than money in place here. Would you stop loving your culture and cease to keep it if you were paid to forget it?
@@MariaMartinez-researcher You just proved my point. The Japanese, Saudis, Chinese, and Finns are all financially well-off and are using their language in all aspects of their lives. Their language is key to their financial success. I never said anything about difficult languages. And no, people will not stop loving their culture if paid to forget it. They themselves will tend to forget it when it doesn't pay. I don't know much about the history of the Native Americans. But if that is as you said it is, the Navajo language does not seem to be a language powerful enough to free them from whatever lack of freedoms they have. The State of Israel was founded in 1948 during painful and traumatic circumstances. They revived the almost dead Hebrew language and look how prosperous they are. I do not simplistically point to language as the single factor in economic success. But it looks like it is a major factor. But I think it is not only about forgetting or losing a language. When people know a certain language is economically advantageous to them, they learn it. One example is how Filipinos learn Nihonggo to get lucrative jobs in Japan. I would dare suggest that not too many people learn a language for its own sake.
I have the navajo dubbed version on DVD.
Same here. My only complaint is they translated George Lucas' edited version - the Greedo Shoots First edit - instead of the original.
@@ToddBradley-pz2jr same here.
I love Star Wars and I'm a Canadian native from the dene nation of northern Canada , my people are related to Navajo , we separated when we followed the caribou north and the other half followed the buffalo south .
I remember hearing about a dubbing of Bambi either in Powhatan, or Algonquin, but regardless the snippet that I vaguely remember is heartwarming
This is awesome. So the elders understand the film while the young learn the language. Brilliant!
This is brilliant. I really hope this group celebrates May 4th for the next 10 years by translating the other movies.
Thank you for showing the voice actors!
I don't know about anyone else, this may me cry with depth, warmth and joy and I'm not even Navajo. Anyone feel it too?
nah
Literally a new hope
I appreciate the efforts to assert Navajo as a living culture, present and integrated into pop culture. Showing the rest of America the Navajo Nation is not a thing left to history, but vibrant NOW.
As Native-American, this is awesome.
That looks fun, I hope they keep doing it and that I could go some day. I struggle enough with just English, but I could enjoy Star Wars in any language.
This is so great ! It’s bringing me to tears.. happy tears of course 😊
Long live the Navajo Nation! ❤
I’m not Navajo, but I love this so much.
I hope all the native cultures are doing all they can to preserve their languages and traditions.
So many times I have walk in that lot on the weekends for the swap meet. I wish I was there for this, even if I didn’t understand it. Gogogo Navajo!!
Solidly cool!!! Movies, Food and Music are bridges. Let's keep building them instead of walls!!
This is wonderful. It makes me want to learn Navajo.
This was so cool! Whenever I see stuff like this, I wonder, how many words or phrases did they have to make up for this? Like, did Navajo already have a phrase for light-speed? What words did they use to represent "the force"? Fascinating video!
Light speed seems easy because there is no way that Navajo doesn't have those two words already. But I agree I would love to see a more detailed video on the transition process.
This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time!
What a brilliant way of keeping the ancestral languages alive! They should be treasured all over the world. In the past so many schoolchildren would be punished for speaking their own language, no child deserves this😢
nice to see star wars in its original navajo instead of the english dub we're so used to
This is the way 🙏
This is the way
I don't speak Navajo but I think it's beautiful that dubbing a movie in Navajo not only preserves the language and extends its usage but its also a way for people to connect across language barriers. More classic films like this should get a Navajo dub.
oh this is a beautiful way of not only preserving the Navajo language but hopefully as a springboard to encourage the younger people to learn it and pass it on. It's sad so many languages are in in danger of dying out and I know it's a race against time to preserve them going forward and if possible, hopefully--to keep them alive
This is so cool!!!
Glad to see this.
I hope they dub over the rest of the movies. Awesome. 😮
I'm more of a Star Trek fan, more than a Star Wars fan. But, this was absolutely amazing to see. I love that Star Wars has been dubbed into Navajo. What a great idea!
This is a wonderful way to share a story that goes beyond any culture and language. I'm glad to hear that native languages are finally getting the respect they deserve.
"The urgency to keep native languages alive is experienced by many tribes across the country". Yes, it is. It's also a global urgency. Many native languages around the world are dying or have died and only very recently been rediscovered and slowly relearned by very few, trying to spread it and bring it back. Native languages need to be preserved.
This is wonderful, knowing that the Navajo language contributed in defeating evil Axis powers during World War 2.
This is awesome, everyone deserves Star Wars 😁
I will be filled with shame and grief if these languages are left to die in my lifetime. I have never had the chance to learn and practice another language but I hope those that have that opportunity do so.
This is brilliant. May many more movies be translated into the language, and other indigenous languages.
That is so awesome.
I thought the folks in the beginning were just cosplaying LOL! But even better, they're responsible for the Navajo dub!
It's beautiful actually
A great way to preserve a beautiful language!
So beautiful - I got tear-y eyed watching
Cool. I was at the first public screening of this in 2013 at the Navajo Nation Fairgrounds in Window Rock. It's weird that PBS just now decided to do a story about it, ten years later.
I was thinking the same thing! I saw a presentation done by the filmmakers at Star Wars Celebration when the movie first released... and we got to watch the movie there on a big screen. It was pretty incredible! I picked up the DVD as soon as it was available, and bought a few copies to give to friends.
Better late than never? 🤔
And certainly new to a lot of viewers. 😎✌️
PBS viewers like me! I think this is amazing! And joyful 🌈
I think it's because it's a part of their larger series. So this piece wasn't like breaking news... just an example of modern Native life!
@@EricaGamet aha, I think you're right. They extracted some of the footage from the Language is Life episode of Season 2 of the Native America series, and edited it into this short segment about Star Wars.
not a star wars fan, but this is immensely cool!
Unique...and so fitting
It must be so hard to translate specifically this movie into such a rare language, due to all the strange words and tech in it.
The more inclusive we are the more friends we can have
The movie prey was done in completely native language, not even dubbed if you wish to watch it that way... great movie by the way
It was dubbed too.
I appreciate and am deeply moved by this story. Smiling and weeping happy!
Long love the Navajo Nation!
I love learning this! 🌠🪶
I once heard anthropologist Wade Davis once say that when he was a child there were approximately six thousand languages spoken. But by that point, 2000-2001, roughly half of them were no longer being taught and unless something was changed they would be dead within a generation. He said this while talking about the Finnish language, which was nearly lost during the Middle Ages when the Swedes conquered Finland. It only survived through the tradition of folk songs being sung in remote villages. This is a modern version of that. Taking one of, if not, the most popular film series of all time and translating it into an ancient language spoken by few. And therefore creating a desire to both learn and preserve it for posterity.
This is brilllliant. Maybe other native languages to follow?
Brought to tears by how wonderful it is that they did this.
This is so awesome. Absolutely lovely.
This is beautiful! Ive got chills! What a wonderful thing to do for the real Americans! ❤❤❤
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I am trying to fathom how much work (a labor of love) went into this project.
Absolutely awesome, deeply moving. May the Force be with you all.
This is the coolest and inspiring projects with Star Wars I've heard in a long time. A long time. You got me pumped to hear this being done and then partly see it!
I'm not of Indigenous heritage, but I am a HUGE Star Wars nerd and this is absolutely beautiful to see !! The look of pride and happiness in these peoples eyes, bot young and old is heartwarming.
This is awesome! First the Comanche dub the movie Prey and now the Navajo dub Star Wars. I'm so happy Native Americans have found a way to help preserve the language and to expose it to the next generation.
Amazing stuff here
somehow the Navajo sounds perfectly natural in the Star Wars setting
When I worked at Bryce Canyon, sometimes the radio would pick up the Navajo station out of Page, AZ. I couldn’t understand it but it was fun to listen to, especially when they would cover pop songs In Navajo!
This is wonderful--thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this video I know my Navajo brothers and sisters deserve this.
I'm not a Navajo and I'm speaking this so I can't tell if the machine does it right I think it's absolutely fantastic that you put that in the number of language that is absolutely great 100% wish they would do more than of that
Aw. This makes me want to cry! How special!
So awesome to see. Makes me emotional thinking about my grandpa