# Lingual accents of the Belters (The Expanse) \[no spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867 "2021-03-27T19:07:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/1 "2021-03-27T19:07:22Z")
I’ve been binge watching The Expanse via Prime, and am in Season 5 right now. I noted how one character seems to ‘switch accents’ between her presumably normal British-English accent, to that of a “Belter” accent when speaking with them. This, and [this post](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-the-expanse/932304/17) got me thinking, _just what is_ the accent of the Belters? With a lot of the hard-consonant emphasis, and some of the vowels’ pronunciation, I’m thinking . . . Dutch? German mixed with something else? Tripler Non-linguistics expert. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/2 "2021-03-27T20:35:25Z")
Jamaican + Afrikaans was always my guess, but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the show. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/3 "2021-03-27T20:38:14Z")
The accent of the Belters is the accent of someone whose first language is Belter Creole. As to the real-world basis of that language? Word of God says: “[Superstrate is English, substrates predominantly Chinese, Romance, Hindi Slavic, Bantu](https://twitter.com/Nfarmerlinguist/status/697283495257731072)” So English is the only Germanic language listed there. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/4 "2021-03-27T20:38:20Z")
I don’t think the Belter language or word pronunciation is derived from a particular source but rather is a pidgin with cognates from a mishmash of terrestrial languages. The language structure is clearly Germanic in form (probably for ease of understanding by the primarily English-speaking audience) and a number of the words are recognizable as being derived from some Germanic language (probably Danish or one of the Western Scandinavian languages), but there are also words that are Slavic, Japanese, Magyar, and of course a lot of basic English, which I assume is supposed to reflect the multicultural origins of Belter society. The accents vary between actors (I assume to reflect ‘regional’ differences between habitats) but they do seem to have a very Northern Germanic enunciation; if I were listening to dialogue without reference to the show I’d probably assume it to be Norse or Icelandic. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/5 "2021-03-28T03:18:43Z")
Answers the mail–thank you! Tripler It wasn’t as clear as that from _Firefly_ which had obvious sources. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/6 "2021-03-28T22:06:43Z")
The Belter culture is one of the coolest things about The Expanse. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/7 "2021-03-29T13:51:24Z")
I generally like the show but for me it was a toss up for what irritated me most: the Belter ‘accent’ or _Avasarala_’s constant hoarse mushing of language and terrible overacting. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/8 "2021-03-29T13:52:15Z")
Based on a lot of the Belter names in the books, I always assumed the Belt had a lot of Brazilians, and by extension Belter Creole has a hefty dose of Portuguese, along with English and a dozen other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/9 "2021-03-29T17:16:04Z")
This site doesn’t really address the OP’s question, but it is adjacent. 😀 > **[Learn Lang Belta (Belter Creole) Phrasebook and much more on Memrise](https://app.memrise.com/course/1476694/lang-belta-belter-creole-phrasebook/1/)** > > A quick phrasebook for the Belter Creole language from "The Expanse" TV show. Intended as a guide for Inners who are visiting or working in the Belt. Now with female & male vocals! A Paine × MacTane Production, created by Hanne Madeleine Gates... ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/10 "2021-03-29T23:05:24Z")
Now that’s cool. . . thanks @Retzbu_Tox! @bump, are you able to pick out the individual Portuguese? I can’t tell, but I’m more biased towards what I _ **thought** _ was Danish/Nordic. Tripler Knowing the storyline, I now see why it’s a creole language. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/11 "2021-03-30T02:22:30Z")
It’s a creole, and based on some of the character names in the books and the Romance language aspect of the creole, I more or less assumed Brazilian origin for early Belt settlers. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/12 "2021-04-02T18:06:47Z")
> [@bump](#): > > based on some of the character names in the books Which ones did you think were particularly Brazilian? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/13 "2021-04-02T18:21:43Z")
Well, Diogo’s a Brazilian/Portuguese name, and I made the assumption that most Belt immigrants were probably not economically well off on Earth, so that would tend to point a little more toward Brazilians being the primary Romance language speakers vs. Spanish speakers in the early days of the Belt. It’s not something well researched, just a sort of gut feeling lens that I viewed the Belt through while reading the books and watching the show. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingual-accents-of-the-belters-the-expanse-no-spoilers/938867/14 "2021-04-02T18:41:45Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Well, Diogo’s a Brazilian/Portuguese name But Harari is Jewish or Ethiopean. I’d be more inclined to pay attention to family names than first names. > [@bump](#): > > that would tend to point a little more toward Brazilians being the primary Romance language speakers vs. Spanish speakers in the early days of the Belt. I’d say there are as many sources for impoverished Spanish speakers as for Portuguese. And if first names mattered, Camina is a Spanish name, not Portuguese. I’m not saying I think there _wouldn’t_ be a Brazilian influence, BTW, I’m sure there could be. But I didn’t really pick it up in books or TV, myself, so I was curious what you were basing it on.