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Commissions

The purpose of these commissions is to collaborate in the creation of culturally relevant educational tools for languages that are endangered, have no standardised written form or simply lack materials for language education and literacy. 

 

By a linguist, for linguists

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I will design educational tools for your language(s):

  • endangered languages

  • minority languages

  • languages in the revitalization process

  • heritage languages

  • languages without formal description

  • formally described languages

  • languages spoken in indigenous communities

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These tools will combine visual cues and cultural relevance for effective language acquisition.

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The type of tool can vary depending on your needs:

  • alphabets with letters and illustrations/photos

  • wordlists with corresponding images

  • body parts illustrations

  • zines 

  • infographics

  • videos  

  • etc.​

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Each tool is meant for educational purposes, perfect for educators, parents, teachers, institutions, and caregivers.

Our Services

Commission Steps

STEP 1
After submitting your commission (see form below), I will email you asking for detailed information about the language you work on. 

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  • For example, if you order a Body parts sheet, I will ask you if fingers, "hand," and "forearm" correspond to one or more words.

  • If you order an Animal-themed zine, I will ask you how is the environment and what type of plants grow in it to provide an accurate portrayal for the background too.

  • If you order an Alphabet, I will ask you if there is a script/alphasyllabary you would like to see next to the Latin script (if the Latin script is also used for the same language) and if you'd like to list numbers too (see the Amharic alphabet example). 

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No matter the type of order, I will ask you if there are any words you would absolutely want to see on your product, as well as the sentence/word you would like to see as the title of the product.

 

  • For example, I will ask you to provide a sentence such as "The X Alphabet", "Learn X", or "Instructions for X", depending on the type of product and the language I will work on.

STEP 2 (optional)
If the type of order requires further discussion, I will schedule a video call (Zoom or WhatsApp) with you. 

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This may be needed if the language is spoken in a very specific environment or if the language has a script and each word needs to be transliterated first, but also if you simply want to discuss with me any detail regarding the commission.

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The length of the video call will depend on your needs, but it may last about 1 hour. Despite being in Finland (GMT +2), I can schedule videocalls that would suit American, Asian and Australian time zones, as I often work at night.​

STEP 3
I will send you a draft and ask for feedback.

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In this phase, you will let me know what needs to be changed or replaced, you will provide better examples and words for the product and make sure that each visual and written cue is culturally relevant. 

If you found any additional resources, such as photographs or texts, to better portray the language, share them as soon as you can or at the latest at this stage.​​​

STEP 4 (optional)
​At this point, we will decide whether to schedule a videocall with you AND (a) native speaker(s). 

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This step may require you to send a draft of the product to a language consultant/native speaker who will provide thorough feedback on the words and images in the draft. You may need to send it days in advance to give them the time to look at the draft and think of alternatives to elements that need replacing, and/or to print the draft.

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For example, if I inserted a certain fruit which is only occasionally eaten, and there is a more common fruit (or other element) starting with the same letter, then you and/or the language consultant should let me know during the video call.

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In my experience, this step has been crucial both for myself and for the person who commissioned the work.

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The length of the video call will depend on your needs, but it may last about 1 hour.​

Commission Form
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Thanks for your order!

Other

If you want to place a custom order we will discuss it via email first.

Contact me at raheltd@outlook.com and type “Custom order” in the object.

Be as thorough as possible in your request: do you need a product for a culture specific event? A unique type of print? A short or long form video?

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