The Mando’a of “Ben” Kenobi
(and bonus Mando’a fan linguistics for “Korkie” Kryze)
I’m waving my (constructed) language-nerd flag high today! Get ready to learn some Mando’a: Mando’a DIctionary
Though it’s not fully canon anymore, it’s been established that Satine Kryze is the one who gave Obi-Wan Kenobi the nickname “Ben,” which he used as his alias during his years of exile on Tatooine. That information comes from two sources:
1) the now Legends book Kenobi by John Jackson Miller:
Excerpt read by James Arnold Taylor (start at 3:45): Meeting her [Annileen Calwell] gave me a chance to finally use the name I chose. You'll like this: Ben. I'd seen it on the map at the property office in Bestine; there's some mesa by that name ... Satine used to call me that. 'Twas a private thing ... Still, I liked the sound of it.
2) an unused concept for The Clone Wars series:
Found on the StarWars.com, “Deception” page:
(My guess is that Henry Gilroy or Paul Dini, the writers of the episode, where probably the ones to come up with that tidbit)
Anna and Dave couldn’t figure out an appropriate justification for “Ben” being an affectionate nickname, but that doesn’t mean that fans have stopped trying. A lot of us have turned to the Mando’a language, which is a relatively extensive constructed language, to justify the connection.
So here are several of my favorite fan theories involving Mando’a for how “Ben” became Satine’s personal nickname for Obi-Wan:
1) Ben is a contraction of the Mando’a word beten [BEY-tehn] = “sigh”
I’ve seen this theory a couple places, but I first learned of it from @kotorswtor. I love this one because it feels like an appropriate reflection of Obi-Wan and Satine’s argumentative relationship. He frustrates her (and vice versa) and makes her “sigh” in exasperation, and then uses that very word as a nickname, basically as a way to say “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!”
2) Ben is a play on the Mando’a word kebiin [kay-BEEN] = “blue.” This is a theory I came up with, but that was inspired by SallyK’s fic Blue, in which Satine teaches Obi-Wan the word for blue, because “it’s similar to his surname and she finds that amusing.”
“Kebiin” does indeed sound a bit like “Kenobi,” and with a slight vowel shift, [been] could become [ben], or rather [beyn], which is how I think Satine pronounces it.
Interestingly, Satine sounds similar to the Mando’s word saviin [sah-VEEN] = violet, so together, they have a little color coordination going on.
3) Ben is a play on be’ni [beh-nee] = “the one who belongs to me; the one to whom I belong,” which comes from be = “of” and ni = “I, me”
Probably my favorite of the theories, I found this one in @spectral-musette‘s Twilight of the Republic Vignettes. The compound word “be’ni” is a fan-created word, but I love the idea of this being a grammatical possessive. Given Satine’s inability to move on from Obi-Wan after 16+ years of being apart, I feel like a term of endearment that’s basically a claim and a vow is very appropriate. She looks at him and says “mine.” And Obi-Wan claiming the name for himself during his two decades on Tatooine bespeaks his own continued and lasting love for her.
Bonus: A lot of us really love Korkie, but some aren’t the biggest fan of his name (though it’s grown on me the longer I’ve been a fan). Here are a couple explanations for the name that I quite like:
1. Korkie is a nickname. I’ve seen this quite a bit in fics, but the ones I recall are Korbin and Korridon. The one that I personally use is Korthuis [KOR-this], which is a Dutch surname meaning “small house,” but which I use for no other reason that it sounds a bit alien, a bit aristocratic, and goes well when paired with Kryze or Kenobi.
2. Korkie is a Basicization (as opposed to Anglicization) of the Mando’a name Koor’kih [KOOR-kee] meaning “promise of the small/promised little one,” which comes from koor = “deal, contract,” and kih = “small.” Koor’kih is a fan-created compound word that was created by Twitter user MintMedic, who was inspired by the idea that Cody’s name is actually Kote [KOH-day, KOH-tay] the Mando’a word for “glory.”
I have tried to give credit to all those who have created these theories. Please feel free to use these theories in your own fics/headcanons, but remember to also give proper credit.
And If you know of any other Mando’a theories that people have come up with, please share them here!