For the different languages spoken in Sebelsti, see Languages of Sebelsti.
Sebelstian (Namàp Sebelsti, Намахп Себелсти) is a Central Baoji language native to the Democratic Republic of Sebelsti, spoken by nearly 108 million people, primarily in Sebelsti and its neighboring countries, as well as in parts of the The Democratic States of Working Noobs, Bloxrazil, Robloxia, and the Telamon Islands. According to the International Institute of the Sebelstian Language, there are 16 varieties of the language, with a very high degree of mutual intelligibility. It is typically written using the Latin script, however, sometimes it is also written using the Ro-Cyrillic script .
Classification and Dialects
While Sebelstian is officially classified as a member of the Central Baoji language family, it contains a lot of influence from Ro-Portuguese and Tovokian. For centuries, the traditional Sebelsti script was used, but during the colonial era under Ro-Portugal, and later the Tovokian Union, the original script began to fall into disuse, and by the time the country became independent in 1933, it was estimated that only around 45,000 people knew the traditional writing system, and instead were writing using the Ro-Latin or Ro-Cyrillic scripts.
Dialects
There are 16 varieties of Sebelstian, including Standard (or Central), Nakó Variety, Bloxific (in the Telamon Islands), Western , Sezuao , Northern, Eastern, Nakoofian, North Noobanian, Noob, Alavönà, Southeastern, Southwestern, and Robloxian Standard (a dialect spoken by Sebelstians living in Robloxia). Whereas Alavönà and Standard variety speakers can understand each other without much difficulty, Sezuâo variety speakers and Nakoofian variety speakers sometimes use drastically different words for different things The Standard variety is the official dialect used by the government, as well as in formal communication, whereas each local variety is typically used at home or in informal communication within one’s province.
Influence from other languages
Whereas most varieties of Sebelstian have extensive influence from Ro-Portuguese as well as Tovokian, certain varieties such as Sezuao, or to the most extreme extent, North Noobanian, have almost no influence from other languages, and have theoretically remained mostly unchanged for centuries.
Script
Sebelstian is usually written in the Latin script. In formal day-to-day usage, the language is written using the Latin script, with diacritics used to indicate a particular sound or tone. Because of the influence from the Tovokian Union on the Sebelstian language, the Ro-Cyrillic script is used informally and often alongside the Latin script, and in the central and extreme western parts of the country, it is the official script. The federal government of Sebelsti uses both, and places such as the Nakoof Metro use the Ro-Cyrillic script as the primary text on signage, with the alternate romanized version is used alongside, as well as translations in Ro-Portuguese and Ro-English. Additionally, some Sebelstians living overseas use the Bloxrabic script for writing in Sebelstian.
The traditional script used to write Sebelstian is rarely used in Modern Sebelsti. It only sees official use in the North Noobania autonomous region and its surrounding areas. Prior to colonial rule, the traditional script was the only way to write the language. By the 1930s, it had mostly been supplanted and in 1950, the government stopped teaching students in the traditional script.