Commercial Partnerships

There may be opportunities to engage with a corporation, commercial entity, or even a non-profit as part of a language project.

Examples of this type of software company are those that create language learning applications or products. These can vary widely across different companies, but they are generally language-learning software companies that produce applications that can be used by language learners to practice vocabulary or engage in grammar drills. While these partnerships may be of some benefit, it’s important to look at the quality of the pedagogical model that underlays them, and think about the cost-benefit of devoting your team’s time to the creation of such software. Language learning apps have not currently been shown to be useful as primary learning tools to produce new speakers of Indigenous languages, but can be useful aids and resources for teaching. Further, it’s important to look at the terms of service and data management components of these partnerships. They typically require that materials you create in the partnership are made available publicly; some may also require that you allow the company to use your information for other uses – training their systems, advertising, etc.

If you’re considering a corporate partnership, we’d encourage you to be careful about understanding and negotiating the rights to your language materials, in terms of use, derivatives (i.e. the use of your language to train corporate AI models), and modification (i.e. the production of apps, books, etc.). It will also be important to find out what the company’s expectations are about their rights to use your participation as part of their marketing and advertising. It is noteworthy to mention there are some organizations such as 7000 Languages or Mukurtu that are Indigenous-centered and create materials with Indigenous data sovereignty in mind.

And of course, consider whether the partnerships will produce the kinds of materials your project prioritizes.

For more guidance on these types of partners, refer to the Check Before You Tech! handout discussed in Module 3.