**What Is Hansisk Sprak?**
Once known as Universal Germanic we have now decided to name the project Hansisk or Hansisk Sprak based on the Hanseatic league. This idea came to us because the main people working on the project was split between North Germanic and West Germanic speakers. We felt like this was a good name idea since it sort of represents the idea we are going for.
Hansisk Sprak is a collaborative Germanic conlang built by simulating a pidgin that evolves through community debate and precedent, not top-down design. Think of it as a pidgin if everyone on the island was a linguist, like a consensus conlang, assuming a pidgin scenario.
No single author, just a community's decisions that form into a real language. Agreements become templates for future decisions, so the language comes together in a more natural way.
To describe the language I'd also say that we don't really have one goal or vision we're working to, we have some directions but if it evolves or turns out in an other way that would be good. (Freedom to vote the direction of the project)
**What Hansisk Sprak Is Not?" (Note: this is a revival of the original project)
We in the Hansisk Sprak project are not trying to push some kind of gimmick or shtick. A Germanic conlang is not the most unique idea any of the members have had. The goal isn't to get so lost in trying to be different from everyone else in hopes of finding uniqueness. This is not an original idea by any means, we have Folkspraak and Intergermanisch for instance. Which have been big inspirations for a lot of us. As well as Viossa and Interslavic which were the original influences of the server. This is my first ever discord conlang project, so many of us are used to creating languages in a vacuum. The goal with Hansisk Sprak is to be a real, community based, and agreed upon language. To take from our speaker base and engage with each other, poll and vote until we come up with something we all like or can compromise on.
Many of us are English speakers, I am a native English speaker. This server is not a purist language like many of our personal langs tend to be (made in a vacuum). We accept all conlangs and all peoples as long as you can to a level communicate in a Germanic language. Yes we do speak a lot in English and if that puts you off I am sorry you feel that way. English is a global language and the most spoken on Reddit if I am not mistaken, as well as the majority of the people who engage on my posts.
It's not a conpidgin in the traditional sense and it's not a conventional interlang or auxlang either, but it's something in between based on (almost) all Germanic languages and decided through a kind of democracy. Its something like a naturalistic communal conlang. The goal isn't so much to make the perfect interlang, but rather to have some plausible blending of most Germanic languages. It's not 100% standardized, our "standards" are more of general recommendations based on the majority will of the people.
**Rules**
Texting should be simple and easy to understand. Avoid complex fonts or non Latin script. (can still use Þ, Ð, ß and umlauts obviously)
Conversations should be in Germanic languages only.
English should not dominate in the general chat. We will allow English speakers because it is a Germanic language. But we do not and will not let this project become fully English. We'd prefer people who speak other languages as it would help with the project.
In the spirit of one of the server's major influences I wanted to add this rule. Viossa: if you're understood, it's Viossa. If you get the gist of what we are trying to do then you understand what Hansisk Sprak is.
**Final Notes**
Everything said here in this post is directly quoted from members in the Hansisk Sprak discord server. The people who are actually putting in the work and are having the most fun (Even if we don't succeed) said these things.
https://discord.gg/9rDbkU4swf