Language app helps U.S. troops in Afghanistan

By Kristen McCrae, CNN

| Filed under: Mobile

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

App helps soldiers with Dari, a dialect spoken in Afghanistan
The application also features information about Afghanistan, including its history, culture and local etiquette

(CNN) -- A new iPhone app is helping soldiers deployed overseas overcome a major obstacle: the language barrier.

TripLingo Dari, released on July 4, is the first interactive language application designed to help American personnel in Afghanistan learn Dari. Dari is a Persian dialect spoken by about half of Afghanistan's population.

Once downloaded, TripLingo does not require an Internet connection, making it much easier for soldiers overseas to use the app.

But, language isn't the only thing TripLingo Dari offers. The application also features information about Afghanistan, including its history, culture and local etiquette. It reminds you, for instance, about the importance of taking off your shoes before you walk in a house.

There are two versions of the app: one for soldiers and civilians, the other for medical personnel. The latter includes advanced medical terminology.

According to TripLingo CEO Jesse Maddox, more than 1,000 people have downloaded TripLingo Dari, including NATO soldiers, NGO workers and contractors.

Lt. David Duffus of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland tried for nine months to learn Dari without much success. He is now able to communicate in the language. "It helps break the ice with the locals... I can talk directly to the soldiers without needing an interpreter and when we are under fire that can save lives -- ours and theirs," Duffus says.

Maddox has two friends and a cousin serving in Afghanistan who he says inspired him to create the app. "Soldiers aren't your typical traveler... but, they have the same problems that tourists do and perhaps even more pronounced," Maddox says.

James Tomecsek is a civil aid worker in Afghanistan who uses the app to communicate with locals. He says the application helps both parties: "It's teaching them [Afghans] English while it's teaching me more Dari."

The Department of Defense's annual "Strategic Language List" says Dari is one of the languages for which there is a critical need in all branches of the service.

TripLingo Dari is among a couple of free language apps that TripLingo makes (Its other free offering, "Pirate," helps users learn to speak like pirates). All other languages cost $9.99 a piece.

TripLingo is just one of dozens of iPhone language applications, all of which are becoming a popular resource for travelers everywhere.

Maddox says these applications can have a huge impact on an individual's experience abroad. He says the potential of applications like these is limitless: "The ability to communicate can go far in delighting someone and getting them on your side... It can help make them no longer see you as a foreigner... but as a person."