Have you heard of the free app Amikumu? It’s available for Android and iOS, and lets you search for other users closest to you geographically that have included the same language in their profile.
For example, if you say in your profile that you’re learning Manx or Cornish or Dutch (and you can show whether you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced, or native speaker), then you can search for people located near you that also speak or are learning Manx or Cornish or Dutch. Amikumu will give you a list of the closest 100 users! You can then text them a message, and if you get on well with them, arrange to meet in person or online for a chat.
Amikumu also released a new feature recently that lets you send out a public message to the 100 people closest to you geographically. It’s a great way for letting people know of any events or conversation groups in the desired language in your area, and you can find out what others are posting too.
Amikumu has over 7,000 languages included in its database, and several of them can also be used as the language of the interface. They’re keen to translate the interface and their website into as many languages as possible if anyone has any free time and fancies volunteering to give them a hand.
I might give this a try, thanks, Dee! I assume it includes Cornish, from what you say… I wonder how many other Kernewegoryon are onto it already?
(I see from the site that the app was created by an Esperanto enthusiast. Now there’s one conlang I’ve had a mild interest in for quite a while but have never got around to it — maybe I should follow that up too… ;))
Well, my a wrug kavoes an app, mes nyns eus lies Kerneweger ena na hwath (Well, I got the app, but there aren’t many Cornish speakers there yet)… We need to spread the word!!
Absolutely! It only works if people are willing to join it, so let as many people know as possible!
And actually, Duolingo Esperanto is not a bad way to start dabbling in the language. I’ve met a few people that have learnt using Duolingo then come along to Esperanto events and been able to converse reasonably well. The British Esperanto Association is very supportive as well.
Well… Dee, if you’re on Facebook (I’m not), perhaps you could share what you’ve posted here with any of the Cornish language organisations that have Facebook pages?
The biggest one I know of (I’m pretty sure it’s the largest organisation for Cornish speakers) is Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek — https://www.facebook.com/Kowethas/ There should be some links to other Cornish groups on their page as well. That’s the best way I can think of to let as many Cornish speakers know as possible.
An exciting new feature has been launched in Amikumu. As well as the ability to post messages that will be broadcast to the 100 closest people that speak the language you select, you can add comments on other people’s posts.
It’s available now on Android, if you update to the latest version, and is coming soon to iOS.
I’ve only just seen this, the app looks great so much potential!
Has anyone else downloaded it? Because it says there are 5 people “near” me (learning Cornish) and I wondered if they were the same 5 as everyone else as they range from 250km to 5300km!!!
It looks like the app remembers where people were the last time they were online, and shows them at that distance, so if you “go offline” you’ll still see people but their locations may not be accurate.
Yes, exactly! If you know of any conversation groups, classes, or Cornish societies anywhere, let them know. The more that register with Amikumu, the more chance you have of finding people.
I have registered but having server connectivity issues. Have initiated my vpn to overcome potential location (Turkey) issues. Will see how that pans out.
Hopefully find someon with whom to engage in a little Kernewek kewsel. Ansum.
I’ve had a look on the app but can’t see you there, Pincher… mind you, Turkey is a long way from Britain, so maybe it doesn’t show anyone past a certain distance (the furthest person that comes up for me is 700 km).
With so few Cornish speakers on Amikumu distance shouldn’t be a problem. The app is designed to show you the 200 closest speakers, no matter where they are. One thing I’ve found is that it pays to logout and log back in occasionally. That makes sure you have the latest settings, and perhaps that will suddenly make @Pincher show up for you @Courtenay
Thanks, Dee. I’ve logged out of Amikumu but then found I couldn’t log back in — I tried two possible passwords, neither of which was accepted, so I clicked on “forgot password” and entered my email address to be able to reset it, but just got the message “Error, try again later.” I’ve had that happen three times now.
Have others reported problems with the app recently, do you know, or is it just scheduled maintenance of some sort?
Courtenay & Dee - vmt for the responses; very encouraging for me. I will hold off from logging out of the application and await Courtenay’s update.
Courtenay - I mis-spelt your name in a different thread; apologies for that.
L8r
Still haven’t been able to log back into Amikumu or to send a reset password request. @Deborah-SSi, if you’re there, do you know how I could contact their tech support?
Sorry @Courtenay - I’m in Australia at the moment so bit of a time difference before I see your messages. If you can send me a private message with your email address and whether you’re using iOS or Android I’ll pass it on to the app developers.
I assume it includes Cornish, from what you say… I wonder how many other Kernewegoryon are onto it already?
