Middle High Beltonian

Middle High Beltonian (MHB) is the form of the Beltonian language that was spoken in central and south Beltonia from 900 to 1600. In later centuries it also appeared as a written language.

MHB and Middle Low Beltonian (MLB) represented opposite ends of a spectrum of dialects, which were affected by other points of variation. Some linguists treat the Middle Central dialects as another set of dialects. MHB was not initially influenced by Classical Beltonian, which also developed from the Low dialects, although it was eventually influenced by the Classical and Middle Low dialects, especially with spelling and imported vocabulary.

MHB saw a series of consonant changes as a result of disappearing vowels and subsequent consonant assimilation. Its vowels were affected by the later arrival of the Low Beltonian Vowel Shift which added front rounded vowels. In grammar, it saw a complete loss of gender marking and a reduction in the number of cases. Some aspects of verb inflection were simplified and auxiliary verbs were introduced to convey certain tenses and an imperfective aspect. MHB was the primary basis for Early Modern Beltonian and therefore modern Beltonian dialects.

History
Differences between the dialects in the regions around Batin and Omchoke were first noted in the 7th century. Smithson writes: "Beltonian was spread over a period of 200 years, in a series of waves. It was adopted by locals who had previously spoken different languages. Finally, while dialects often influenced each other, they could also move in different directions. All of those things fragmented the language, but not on an unusual scale. Indeed, in the 11th century, Beltonia was far more linguistically homogeneous than the Italian peninsula."

The Low dialects, specifically that of Omchoke, became the basis for Classical Beltonian. This became the spoken language of the ruling class and the language of writing throughout the whole of the Beltonian Empire. Very little literature of other dialects survives from between the 10th and mid-13th century. Middle Low Beltonian was better documented, due to the theatre scene that was centred on Omchoke. However, there were a few playwrights who wrote in Batinese dialects, such as Symeon Lismakt.

The arrival of the printing press in the 15th century and the Beltonian Reformation led to what Bacha terms "a revolution of the written language". Vernacular literature almost completely supplanted the Classical dialect. One of the most notable Middle High Beltonian works was Escha's Bible, which was written in a phonetic transcription of the Batinese dialect. Other literature from around the period was written in various other phonetic spellings with the Beltonian alphabet. By the 16th century, although spelling had become more (though not completely) standardized, and also more influenced by spellings of the Classical dialect.

Smithson writes that the improvement of communication afforded by the printing press paradoxically ended up dividing the language, by encouraging the written language to reflect the varying dialects of ordinary people. Also important was the decline of internal royal power in the Late Empire. The provinces each adopted different standardized written language, although the written languages were mutually intelligible.

Although the Ottoman conquest brought no immediate change to the language, linguists tend to treat it as the dividing line between the Middle and Early Modern periods.

Consonants
Middle High Beltonian had approximately 21 consonant phonemes.

Vowels
Middle High Beltonian had 8 vowel phonemes; some analyses consider the schwa to be a ninth. It is usually analyzed as having five diphthongs.