From HSE Class Project to Interstellar App: How We Built Unilingo
For our final project in the Translinguistics and Transcultural Communication course at HSE University, my teammates Raihanullah Mohamand, Mohammad Ibrahim Moneeb and I (Mir Gul Mutaqi) were given a fascinating challenge: design a language. Not just any language, but one fit for an Interstellar Federation a tool for diplomacy, trade, and communication between countless species. We named it Unilingo.
But instead of stopping at a 20‑page PDF of grammar rules, we decided to build something real: a working website and a functional mobile app. This is the story of how a theoretical academic idea left the classroom and came to life on a smartphone screen.
The core idea of Unilingo came from our studies. We needed a language that was perfectly regular, easy to learn, and culturally neutral. We settled on 19 easy‑to‑pronounce letters, a strict Subject–Verb–Object structure, and a core vocabulary of just 80 words that can be combined to express complex ideas. Nouns always end in -o, verbs in -ar. It was an exercise in logical purity. During our class presentation, one question shifted the direction of the project.
“How would someone actually learn this?”
That moment transformed our assignment from analysis into a mission.
We divided the work based on our strengths. Mohammad and I focused on the linguistic structure, ensuring the rules were clear and teachable. Raihanullah led the visual concept design. But the real challenge came next: how to make a fictional language feel tangible? The answer was interactivity. We wanted people to tap, swipe, listen, and engage with Unilingo like a real language.
The website became the home base. It hosts the alphabet, dictionary, grammar rules, and sample texts essentially, our reference library. But the mobile app is the heart of the experience. We designed it to feel like a modern language‑learning tool, using a deep‑space blue and cosmic teal color scheme to give it an interstellar atmosphere. The interface includes large tappable lesson cards, a daily challenge (for example: “salutar” to greet), and a progress tracker showing streaks and mastery.
Building the app was a lesson in problem‑solving. Using basic web technologies we created a browser‑based prototype. We coded interactive flashcards that flip to reveal pronunciation. We added buttons using the browser’s speech synthesis to pronounce Unilingo words aloud. We designed simple navigation with a home screen, lessons, practice exercises, and a profile page. Every step focused on making our theoretical language practical.
Presenting the project in our Translinguistics class became a whole new experience. Instead of just explaining grammar rules, we could pass a phone around. Our classmates tried quizzes, heard the pronunciation of luno (“moon”), and watched their progress bars fill. The project shifted from a static report to a dynamic demonstration. It showed that language planning, acquisition, and ideological neutrality weren’t just academic ideas they were a blueprint for crafting a usable tool.
What we learned went far beyond verb endings. We discovered the bridge between theory and reality. At HSE, we often analyze how communication works. This project forced us to build communication ourselves. We moved from asking, “What makes a good auxiliary language?” to “How does a learner actually feel when using it?” That change of perspective was invaluable.
Unilingo may never be spoken by diplomats from Mars, but building it taught us more about real‑world communication than any textbook. It proved that language is not only a system of rules but also an experience that must be designed. And sometimes, the best way to understand something is to try to build it one line of code and one universal word at a time.
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Mir Gul Mutaqi
