Yoda

The Jedi Master known as Yoda (896 BBY–4 ABY), voiced by Frank Oz, is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He appears in all of the franchise's installments except for '. Like many names in Star Wars, the name "Yoda" may be etymologically derived from the Sanskrit yoddha ("warrior") and/or the Hebrew yodea ("one who knows"). Yoda's character is believed by some to have been inspired by the title character in the 1975 Russian-Japanese film Dersu Uzala directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Personality and traits

To his students, the elfin Yoda can appear as either very strict or like a grandfather, testing them to mental and physical extremes one moment and showing warmth the next. (In the beginning of their training, students may not see eye-to-eye with him, but eventually come to see the significance of his teachings.) Among his colleagues on the Jedi Council, he is known to have a penchant for mischief and practical jokes. To all of them, the humble Yoda, who offers enlightened leadership, epitomizes the ideals of the Jedi Order; the grandmaster of that august body is widely known as a sage instructor.

Related Topics:
Elf - Jedi Council - Enlightened

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Yoda speaks "Galactic Basic" in a distinctive manner by placing verbs (and more frequently, auxiliary verbs) after the object and subject. In linguistic typology this is the "Object Subject Verb" format. A typical example of Yoda's speech pattern is from Return of the Jedi: "When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not." This speech pattern has been the source of much parody.

Related Topics:
Verb - Auxiliary verb - Linguistic typology - Object Subject Verb - Return of the Jedi - Parody

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For Italian fans of the Star Wars series, especially children, Yoda is often referred as "The Sardinian One" or "The One Who Speaks Sardinian". This is due to the fact that once translated into Italian, Yoda's manner of speaking is very close to the Sardinian accent that in Italy is considered humorous, even if slightly ridiculous.

Related Topics:
Italian - Sardinian

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When not actively using the Force, the elderly Yoda walks with a cane. In the Expanded Universe, it is revealed that one of his canes is a gift from the Wookiees, and that his gimer stick cane contains nutrients that can sustain him were he to chew on it.

Related Topics:
Expanded Universe - Wookiee - Gimer

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Another item unique to Master Yoda is a blissl, an instrument similar to a panflute, which he wears around his neck while on Dagobah.

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When we first meet Yoda, he cooks up a stew of roots and leaves to share with Luke Skywalker. Though he lives in a world teeming with animal life, his choice of food has led some to believe that he adheres to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Some have suggested that this is due to the strong empathy he feels with all living beings through the Force. Yoda is never shown eating what is easily recognizable as a meat product; however, we only see Yoda for a relatively short period of time in the Star Wars films, and in that time, see him eat only twice. This, coupled with the fact that there is no current mention of Yoda's specific diet in any official works, means that the details of his diet are not yet described in the canonical sense.

Related Topics:
Vegetarian - Vegan

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