How do you pronounce AT-AT in Star Wars? Opinion has become split on the information superhighway. Some are A-Tee-A-Tee, others are At-At. One wise Twitter user decided to consult an expert: Mark Hamill, who plays Star Wars character Luke Skywalker.
In response, Hamill pointed out that he believes “@-@”, pronounced “At-At”, is the technical term, but he avoids the whole discussions by calling them “Walkers”. Simple, succinct, allows all of us to adopt a position on the fence and live a life of peace with the science fiction movies. His belief is backed up by public-facing advertising and behind-the-scenes footage, as evidenced by this 2010 video from Nerdist.
Advertisements going back to the ’80s have the phonetic version. Time magazine received confirmation from Lucasfilm PR in 2010 that this was correct, settling the argument once and for all. Or at least, settling it for the time-being. This is a discussion that’s raged for years, rearing its head on social media every so often when it turns out some people have a different idea to some other people. None of it really matters, and “Walkers” is an easy out if anyone wants to get into it with you.
Hamill shared that George Lucas himself wasn’t hard and fast with these any of this language. “When we would ask George: ‘Is it Chew-bah-ka or Chew-back-a?’, ‘Is it Lay-a or Lee-a?’. ‘Is it Hahn or Han (as in hand)?’, he would just shrug and didn’t really care,” Hamill posted. “He told us it would be pronounced in various ways in different parts of the galaxy.”
That might read like a cop out, but it makes sense for a franchise this expansive. A galaxy far, far away is large, with many planets, races, and cultures. Pronunciations can vary from town to town in parts of the world, moving planets would easily involve shifting dialects. Who’re we to assume what the people of Naboo call something when compared to Tatooine, Endor, or Alderaan?
I think it's "@-@", even though I always called them "walkers"
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) July 10, 2022
If you fancy taking this further, you’re welcome to argue with Luke Skywalker himself on Twitter. Good luck with that, though.