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Inspired by the accepted answer to "Is there a logic behind the naming of the Rebel Alliance's starfighters?" I want to know in universe why the Rebel Alliance fighter names are based on Latin alphabet characters, and not, for example Aurebesh (one of the more common in-universe alphabets).

From the Wikipedia entry of Star Wars languages:

Aurebesh alphabet

For example, why isn't the Y-wing actually called a 'Vev-wing', an A-wing a 'Xesh-wing', etc. in universe?

Lexible
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    In-universe, are the characters supposed to be speaking English? The X, Y, A etc part of the names could just as easily be interpreted as a translation for the movie audience as the "wing" part. – Ben Aug 04 '19 at 06:52

1 Answers1

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Out of universe, the Aurebesh didn't exist in 1977 when the original movie came out. All text including the Death Star's tractor beam control consoles were written in English using the Roman alphabet. This wasn't changed until, at earliest, the 1997 Special Edition re-release of the film, when Aurebesh had been established. Episodes V and VI both featured early forms of what would become Aurebesh, but these are mostly gibberish symbols and are unable to be transliterated, unlike the Aurebesh of the late 1990s where it was fully transposed aurek-for-A,besh-for-B and used on consoles and displays throughout the film.

In-universe, the Roman alphabet exists as the High Galactic alphabet, a form of writing that developed before or concurrently to Aurebesh. So the letters A, X, and Y as they relate to the starfighters exist alongside the more common Aurebesh letters. In some cases, such as Legends depictions of the Corporate Sector's official logo, both "High Galactic" and Aurebesh are portrayed side-by-side. Another example, the Trade Federation logo, is a combination of T and F using the Roman alphabet.

It's worth noting that the Greek alphabet also exists within Star Wars, if the names of the Delta-7/7B, Eta-2, Lambda-, Sigma-, and Nu-class starfighters and shuttles are any indication; this, as a commentor mentioned, represents the Tionese alphabet, likewise an archaic writing system and language that eventually got replaced more or less entirely by Galactic Basic and the High Galactic/Aurebesh systems in the majority of the galaxy.

Here's the CorpSec logo I mentioned: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/e/e9/CSAcolor.svg/revision/latest?cb=20080312034722

And the Trade Federation one: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/a/ac/Trade_Federation.svg/revision/latest?cb=20120211223906

SpaceWolf1701
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    In Legends, Greek letters were associated with the Tionese language, and influenced the High Galactic (Roman) alphabet, which came from the early Republic world Alsakan. Both had a certain "bygone age" cachet in the Republic, hence their use in logos, names, and other symbols - not unlike we'd use Greek letters. – Cadence Aug 03 '19 at 16:01