Swittanese

Swittanese (Σvittauh, Suittani) is a language that is spoken primarily in Swittany, a province of Beltonia, where it has co-official status. A member of the Beltonic languages, it is the closest extant relative of Beltonian, depending on whether Low Beltonian is considered a separate language. Swittanese is estimated to have 4.5 million speakers. An estimated two-thirds of the population of Swittany speak the language, while the province's population is roughly equally divided between those who primarily speak either Swittanese or Beltonian.

In general, Swittanese is not mutually intelligible with Beltonian, though it is mutually intelligible with many Low Beltonian dialects. Until the Industrial Revolution, it was generally considered to be a dialect of Beltonian. In 1963, it was recognized as a secondary official language of Beltonia. The Academy of the Swittanese Language, established shortly afterwards, is the official regulator of the language.

Swittanese avoided many key phonological shifts that affected Beltonian, including the Low Beltonian Vowel Shift and losses of rhotic and nasal vowels on the ends of syllables. It has been affected by alternative consonant and vowel shifts, resisted vowel reduction like Low Beltonian, and tolerated some consonant clusters that are not found in other Beltonic languages. Swittanese has simplified verb inflections and the case system, although the spoken language uses case marking more often than some Beltonian dialects.