I was wondering. Why some species don't speak basic but understand it and opposite, some species speak basic and understand foreign language. This is in every scene where is some alien and human for example. It's weird, isn't it?

Human understands Basic and Twi'lek. Twi'lek understands Twi'lek. Twi'lek Speaks to human in Twi'lek. Human replies in Basic. Twi'lek stares.

It's pretty simple, you see it in the real world too. For example i speak danish to someone i know, and he speaks german to me. We understand eachother perfectly, but we prefer our native language. I'm assuming that is also what is going on in Star Wars.

It adds to the immersion of the series and I personally love it.

The reality of it is like what the other posters before me said.

The sub titles are there for the Player. Not for the Character.

It's up for interpretation as to whether or not the Character

actually understand the speaker or has some sort of translation

device going on in an ear piece or something. I know at least

once, my BH had no idea what the speaker was saying and I

had the option of saying so.

 

Look at it this way. English is the dominant language on Earth,

take it or leave it. Everyone is, for whatever twisted reason,

expected to understand at least a little of it. But that doesn't stop

Germans from being German or Spanish, Spanish. To some keeping

their culture alive means more than anything. So there are those

who may understand English but simply choose not to speak it.

 

Then there is the fact that this is Star Wars and some cultures/individuals

may not be able to actually speak any language but they're own.

Take the Hutts for example, or Aqualish (sp), or most notably Ithorians.

Ziro the Hutt speaking in a fake southern drawl is rather annoying and

forced, I really don't know what to say about that one lol