(→Orthography: Corrected transcription of "ow" to /ɔ/ to match pronunciation of "ought" in British English (General American English's would be /ɑ:/); also added clarification of "tap or flap" for /ɾ/.) Tags: Visual edit apiedit |
(Reinstating /ɒ/ for "ow", as this is the notation used by nfarmer, e.g. https://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/702970360409362432) Tag: sourceedit |
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|'''ow''' |
|'''ow''' |
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| − | |/ |
+ | |/ɒ/ |
|as in "l'''aw'''" or "th'''ough'''t"<ref>http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692023285274378241</ref> |
|as in "l'''aw'''" or "th'''ough'''t"<ref>http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692023285274378241</ref> |
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By default, the primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable of a word: |
By default, the primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable of a word: |
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| − | * ''<u>show</u>xa'' – /' |
+ | * ''<u>show</u>xa'' – /'ʃɒ.xæ/ |
* ''se<u>te</u>shang'' – /se'te.ʃæŋ/ |
* ''se<u>te</u>shang'' – /se'te.ʃæŋ/ |
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* ''gufo<u>ve</u>di'' – /gu.fo've.di/ |
* ''gufo<u>ve</u>di'' – /gu.fo've.di/ |
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If the stress for a particular word is on a different syllable, this is indicated with an accent mark:<ref>http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692790102389428224</ref> |
If the stress for a particular word is on a different syllable, this is indicated with an accent mark:<ref>http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692790102389428224</ref> |
||
| − | * ''be<u>lówt</u>'' – /be' |
+ | * ''be<u>lówt</u>'' – /be'lɒt/ |
* ''<u>á</u>molof'' – /'æ.mo.lof/ |
* ''<u>á</u>molof'' – /'æ.mo.lof/ |
||
* ''idzhifo<u>bék</u>'' – /i.d͡ʒi.fo'bek/ |
* ''idzhifo<u>bék</u>'' – /i.d͡ʒi.fo'bek/ |
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Revision as of 03:14, 4 August 2017
- For the language from the book series, see Belter Creole (Books).
Belter Creole, often referred to simply as "Belter", is the cultural language spoken by many Belters.[1] The Belter term for the language itself is lang Belta.[2]
History
As its English name suggests, Belter Creole is a creole language. During humanity's expansion into the solar system, people from many different parts of Earth or Mars would often have to live and work together, and they developed a pidgin language so that they could communicate with one another. Over time this developed into a full-fledged creole language, lang Belta, which became the lingua franca, a common tongue, of the Belt and the outer planets.
Vocabulary
- For a full list of words and phrases, see Category:Belter words and Category:Belter phrases.
As a creole language, lang Belta is primarily derived from English, with influences and contributions from languages such as Chinese, Romance languages, Hindi, Slavic, and Bantu.[3] Many of its words were derived from words or phrases in one or more of these languages.
Example words
- Belta – a Belter, an inhabitant of the Belt.
- beltalowda – Belters as a whole, or "us Belters"
- tumang – an Earther
- pomang – a Martian, or "Duster"
- beratna – brother
- seteshang Erosh – Eros station
Example phrases
- Oye – "Hello" / "Hey"
- Oyedeng – "Goodbye"
- Taki – "Thanks"
- Im ta nating – "You're welcome." (lit. "It was nothing")
- To pochuye ke? – "Do you understand me?" (lit. "You hear?")
- Sabaka! – a general-purpose curse; "Dammit!" or "You bastard!"
- Kewe to pensa ere X? – "What do you think about X?"
Grammar
- Main article: Belter Creole grammar
Like English and many other languages, Belter's basic word order is SVO (subject-verb-object):
- da Mila lit da buk
- Miller reads the book.
Adjectives follow the word they modify, as do nouns when showing possession:
- setara "star" + mali "small" → setara mali "little star"
- kopeng "friend" + mi "I, me" → kopeng mi "my friend"
Orthography
The Belter language is written in the Latin alphabet. Most letters have similar phonetic values as in English, but there are some differences.
| Glyph(s) | Phonetic value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| a | /æ/ | as in "man" in General American English[4] |
| b | /b/ | |
| ch | /t͡ʃ/ | as in "chew" |
| d | /d/ | |
| dzh | /d͡ʒ/ | as in "juice"[5] |
| e | /e/ | like French é[6] |
| f | /f/ | |
| g | /g/ | |
| i | /i/ | as in "machine", not as in "bit" |
| k | /k/ | |
| l | /l/ | |
| m | /m/ | |
| n | /n/ | |
| ng | /ŋ/ | as in "king"; how final /n/ is realized |
| ny | /ɲ/ | as in "canyon"; how medial /n/ is realized[7] |
| o | /o/ | |
| ow | /ɒ/ | as in "law" or "thought"[8] |
| p | /p/ | |
| r | /ɾ/ | a tap or flap, like "water" in General American English |
| s | /s/ | |
| sh | /ʃ/ | as in "ship"; how final /s/ is realized |
| t | /t/ | |
| u | /u/ | |
| v | /v/ | |
| w | /w/ | |
| x | /x/ | like Spanish "jota"[9], or Scottish "loch" |
| y | /j/ | as in "yes" |
| z | /z/ |
Phonology
Phonotactics
Consonants
Consonant clusters appear to be uncommon, and only occur at syllable boundaries; there are no initial or final clusters. Some have only been seen at morpheme boundaries, and it is possible that these only occur in compounds. So far, only the following have been attested:
| Cluster | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| kp | bekpélesh | only seen at a morpheme boundary |
| kw | owkwa | |
| lt | Belta | |
| lw | welwala | only seen at a morpheme boundary |
| mb | imbobo, rémbera | |
| mp | pampa | |
| mw | rowmwala | only seen at a morpheme boundary |
| nd | ando, Sundiye | |
| nsh | tensha | |
| ns | pensa | |
| nt | unte, manting | |
| ngw | pashangwala | only seen at a morpheme boundary |
| sm | bosmang | only seen at a morpheme boundary |
| st | teristi | |
| tn | beratna |
Epenthesis and elision
When forming compounds, epenthetic vowels are sometimes added to break up what would otherwise be forbidden consonant clusters. e seems to be the most common, but a is also seen:
- im + lowda → imalowda
- bek + da + bush → bekedabúsh
- na + kang + pensa → nakangepensa
- tung + ting → túngeting
In other cases, consonants at the morpheme boundary are elided instead:
- kowl + mang → kowmang
- zakong + mang → zákomang
Syllables
The basic syllable structure appears to be CVC, where either consonant may be omitted (subject to constraints on vowel and consonant combinations).
| Type | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| V | o, adewu, ereluf, owlesi | only initally |
| VC | ong, unte | only initally |
| CV | du, bikang, xalte | |
| CVC | bek, Belta, ereluf |
Vowels
Belter does not appear to allow diphthongs or vowels in hiatus. So far, there are no attested examples of vowel sounds being directly adjacent without an intervening consonant.
Stress
By default, the primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable of a word:
- showxa – /'ʃɒ.xæ/
- seteshang – /se'te.ʃæŋ/
- gufovedi – /gu.fo've.di/
If the stress for a particular word is on a different syllable, this is indicated with an accent mark:[10]
- belówt – /be'lɒt/
- ámolof – /'æ.mo.lof/
- idzhifobék – /i.d͡ʒi.fo'bek/
When forming compound words, the stress often remains on the head of the compound, which sometimes requires the addition of an accent mark:
Dialects
Like any language, lang Belta has regional variations between speakers, depending on where they come from in the solar system and what their linguistic background is. What is spoken on the TV show is primarily the Ceres dialect of the language.[11]
Gestures
Though not part of the language per se, spoken Belter language is accompanied by several physical idioms, which originally developed due to the need to be able to communicate while wearing space suits. Some examples:
- Lifting the hand: Asking a question
- Lifting a fist: Greeting; nodding, affirmative
- Shrugging is done with one or both hands, palm-up
- Nail of index finger touching the thumb's inner side between the 2 digits, forming a circle, while the other 3 fingers are straight: derogatory gesture, similar to giving the middle finger
Trivia
- Lang Belta was created for The Expanse by Nick Farmer,[12] a linguist, after he met Ty Franck.[13]
- After the TV show begain airing, Daniel Abraham recommended that aspiring students of Belter focus on the version portrayed in the show, as opposed to what he and Franck had written about in the books.[14]
References
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/693824361002725376
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/836793343577186304
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/697283495257731072
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692766228889227265
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/827203735797403648
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/691696905345052672
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/705258967572750336
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692023285274378241
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/679852809454358528
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/692790102389428224
- ↑ http://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/835154615674888193
- ↑ http://www.nickfarmerlinguist.com/
- ↑ Nick Farmer knows dozens of languages, so he invented one for The Expanse by Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar - 2/7/2016, 9:15 AM
- ↑
http://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/5tlhx2/sasa_ke_belter_creole/ddnlq7e/
See also
- Belter Creole (Books)
- List of Belter Creole individual articles
- Belter dialogue
- Sino-Japanese Linguistic Influence
External links
Belter Creole 101 By Bryan Enk; Friday, January 15, 2016 - 07:00
#LangBelta
- News
- Ars Technica - Decrypted: The Expanse: “The truth is never what you expect it to be” by Jonathan M. Gitlin - 3/10/2017, 5:48 AM
- Ars Technica - Nick Farmer knows dozens of languages, so he invented one for The Expanse by Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar - 2/7/2016, 9:15 AM