Two authors, an application developer and language speaker teamed up to bring the Muscogee Language Dictionary App to mobile devices, supplementing language learning and preservation efforts.
Julia Mainzinger is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and the sole app developer. She said she became involved in the project when she started learning the language during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I grew up away from the reservation, so I just got interested and was starting to learn,” Mainzinger said. “And I thought, how can I get more involved and help with other people learning the language?”
Eventually, Mainzinger met Jack Martin, who had previously created a print Muscogee language dictionary. Together, they brainstormed how they could make the language more accessible to language learners and came up with the app that’s available today, which is faster and more convenient than a print dictionary.
“It takes a while to look up each individual word alphabetically, and so being able to search quickly from the phone and just have it on the go is really helpful for learning and just being in life,” Mainzinger said.
Mvhayv Margaret Mauldin also contributed to the project as an author, as did Muscgoee speaker Linda Wood.
The Muscogee Language Dictionary App is available on all mobile devices, including phones, tablets and laptops.
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