  The Born effective charge tensors of Barium Titanate have been calculated for
each of its 4 phases. Large effective charges of Ti and O, also predicted by
shell model calculations and made plausible by a simplified model, reflect the
partial covalent character of the chemical bond. A band by band decomposition
confirms that orbital hybridization is not restricted to Ti and O atoms but
also involves Ba which appears more covalent than generally assumed. Our
calculations reveal a strong dependence of the effective charges on the atomic
positions contrasting with a relative insensitivity on isotropic volume
changes.
