The Expanse is set hundreds of years in the future, in a time where humans aren't confined to Earth's boundaries and have expanded out to the stars, settling on Mars and beyond. With humanity spread so far across the universe, differences start to form, leading to Mars declaring themself separate from Earth, despite speaking a common language. However, there is another group of people who live on the fringes of society and have been marginalized by the people of both Earth and Mars - Belters.
Belters are those who have been born in the low-gravity environments of the Asteroid Belt. Unlike with Mars, the Belters' separation from Earth and its colonies has led to them developing their own English language variant known as Lang Belta, or Belter Creole, and it's become one of the most fascinating, fictional languages.
Younger Than Elvish or Klingon
A new language spinning out from sci-fi or fantasy isn't new, from The Lord of the Ring's Elvish to Star Trek's Klingon. However, these languages feel ancient, perhaps due to their connection with fictional civilizations that were long established before Belter culture. Belter Creole feels alive and holds a cultural significance that touches on the here and now, representing many similar languages that are currently spoken.
Languages like this develop from the mixing and simplification of many languages, helping to create a common means of communication, which is understandable to people from different backgrounds. In The Expanse, the history of Belter Creole is no different, having developed from the mixture of dialects and languages from Earth and Mars, eventually becoming more complex and evolving into Lang Belta, the most common means of communication for those living in The Belt. Its vocabulary is composed from Japanese, Chinese, Slavic, Germanic and a mixture of the most common languages that have survived humanity's journey to the stars.
Lang Belt Goes Beyond Words
Fans of The Expanse will notice that Belter characters will often resort to a simple hand gesture rather than a verbal reply. This is seen as early as Season 1, Episode 3, "Remember the Cant," with Naomi using a subtle hand gesture towards her Martian interrogator. These gestures are unique to the Belters as their use is intrinsically linked to Belter culture and lifestyle.
Belters, more often than those from the inner planets, work in the vacuum of space, relying on their space suits to stay alive. These suits may have comm devices enabling them to speak with others, but devices can fail. This has led to the development of hand signals and gestures, enabling Belters to quickly and clearly communicate when working in a vacuum. These gestures, despite not strictly being a part of Lang Belta, have made their way into common use.
Prejudice Against The Belters
The Belters have been marginalized by those from Earth and Mars for hundreds of years, with those of the Belt often not receiving adequate recompense for their efforts in helping to sustain the inner planets. This essentially leads to a fairly recognizable class struggle, with Earthers and Martians looking down on Belters, despite their reliance on what the Belters do. This social exclusion leads to a prejudice against Lang Belta.
Lang Belta now becomes a means of creating distance from those beyond the Belt and highlighting connectedness amongst the Belters, as seen with Naomi. Naomi's use of Lang Belta is more pronounced when speaking with her friend and fellow Belter, Camina Drummer. Meanwhile, throughout Season 4, Naomi emphasises her "Belterness" to Murtry, a non-Belter. She aligns herself with the Belters who are trying to make their living on Ilus; therefore, she's going against Murtry and using her dialect as an anti-imperialist language. At the same time, she limits her usage of the language when speaking with her fellow Rocinante crewmates, making clear that she still aligns herself with them.
The Expanse Season 5
Season 5 of The Expanse will perhaps see an increase in the use of Belter Creole as Marco Inaros has amassed an army of Belters who are mad about years of persecution. However, Inaros looks to become the invading force, which may subvert the anti-colonial ties of Lang Belta. Despite this, fans will hopefully get to see more of the fascinating Belter culture at play in Season 5, following Season 4's rather muted use.
An adaptation of the novel series of the same name by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse stars Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Frankie Adams. Season 5 premieres Dec. 16 on Amazon Prime Video.