He went on to explain that since Yoda is a philosopher for Luke, the way he spoke had to feel significant. “If you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much,” he continued. “But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”

Yoda is one of the most cherished extraterrestrial characters in movie history, and part of that has to do with the peculiar way in which he speaks.