Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature

„Language is the most powerful tool in life. From everyday conversations, through artistic expressions, and all the way to digital programming people are connected by universal language of symbols that defines them, which every men has an obligation to cherish, develop and move limits of his world with it: The limits of my language mean the limits of my world (Wittgenstein).

Able responded professionally and responsibly to the very demanding job of creating the first Montenegrin spelling application. In cooperation with the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature from Cetinje, Able has programmed an exceptional product suitable for the 21st century and its challenges. The Montenegrin spelling application is the result of a fruitful and professional exchange of knowledge and experiences of the academic and business sectors, and the ultimate goal of cooperation was to provide all citizens with easy access to a reliable language resource that we will continue to improve.“ (Ethem Mandić – Vice Dean for Science and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature from Cetinje).

The Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature is a young institution that achieves enviable results in scientific research and publishing. The Faculty’s mission is to promote the highest standards in the field of philological and cultural Montenegristics. While tirelessly investing in their staff, they hope to become one of the most prominent organizations of such kind recognized at the wider regional and European level. With over 120 published titles, the aim of this institution is to provide the best of accessible yet amazingly written works online, to a broad range of users.

Challenge

In an era of growing online information trends, it is important to have an accessible, up-to-date, and relevant source of information that you can easily rely on. While there were many good examples of language applications on the market, Montenegrin language didn’t have a tool of such kind. So the challenge was to integrate existing knowledge into a simple product that could represent a viable language standard. Having in mind that the spelling needs are not limited to any specific group of users we had to develop an application that would have a clear overview of the content, while being as intuitive as possible to use.

Solution

We came up with a simple mobile app designed for a variety of users. While the content is based on valid language standards and practice, the technical solution written in Dart was well structured and thus very accessible and intuitive to end-users. During the design process, care was taken to keep the data preview clear and simple so that users can easily navigate through the content. The application includes a Spelling Dictionary, a quick search term service, and instructions on some of the most common misspellings and language-related irregularities.

Results

The app was launched in March 2020 and it’s live on Google Play Store. This is the first tool of such kind designed to promote Montenegrin language and contribute not only to informing and educating citizens but also to fostering better business performance in the private sector. This is all due to the fact that the proper use of language enhances the professionalism of employees and thus builds a better company image. Finally, this free app can be extremely useful in media, marketing, education, tourism, state administration, and also to all the individuals who need an easy and reliable source of the language standard.

Technologies and tools

• Source control management: Git&Gitlab
• Languages: Dart
• Cross platform SDK: Flutter
• QA: Manual testing on Test Flight and Google Play internal test tracks
• UX&UI: Adobe XD
• Project management: Jira, Skype