I'handelzhal

I'handelzhal (literally; The Trade Tongue/The Trade Speech) was originally an important pidgin language used all over Vattnafalten however it later evolved into a proper creole language in it's own right with native speakers being common in various trade colonies and cities with very close contact with the rest of the trade networks that stretched from Scandera all the way to the edge of Vattnafalten. It was often the language of trade and commerce but it even made it's way into certain courts as the main language replacing both the good old tongue amongst Scanderan conquer dynasties but also amongst larger trade families in all the realms, islands with especially high mixed populations even adopted it as the native tongue amongst the locals. The language was originally a mixture of Scanderan languages mixed heavily with Sun tongues but one could also find Giel and Astervalk influences and later on in it's life did it even incorporate words from Sydvinland languages. However due to the influence of Scanderan dynasties and Scanderianisation did the language eventually fade into obscurity, a few islands still speak it and some cities in the sun realm still uses modern versions of it however it have largely been replaced by the good old tongue as the language of commerce and intracultural interaction amongst the people in the absolute royal federation. However despite that does it still serve some ritualistic use in the royal merchant guild that still open's the guild gatherings in I'handelzhal and it is commonly used in adornment in merchant guild locations. To further add to it's uncertain future as a spoken language have recently the two main dialect, southern and northern been more and more divergent making speakers of either dialect having a hard time understanding one another. These two dialects are further separated from what is considered "High I'handelzhal" which in turn is the more ritualistic form used by the royal merchant guilds and draws more upon ancient versions of the language.

It was written in Scanderan runes, same as most other languages in Vattnafalten with some new runes invented to capture sounds not used in Scanderan, making it's alphabet closest to the modified version used by Giels than the versions used by Scanderans and the Zhunzhal respectively. While some attempts have been made to preserve the language and restore it's use have these often lacked royal and guild patronage due to both groups prefer the use of the good old tongue instead. Similarly do various religious organisations prefer their own holy tongues or the good old tongue as their languages of choice. Due to the vide spread education in the good old tongue does it remain very unlikely that the old trade language will ever make a return to it's old status of prominence. However despite that does some minority groups still support it's use as the lingua franca of the absolute royal federation as a counterweight to the heavy Scanderan cultural influence and the official policies of Scanderianisation that exist in the federation.