Alkule — 𞤀𞤤𞤳𞤵𞤤𞤫

Learn to read, write, and type the ADLaM script of the Fulani people. Games, courses, books, and culture — in Fulfulde (ADLaM & Latin), English, French, and Arabic.

Alkule is Fulfulde for "the letters of the alphabet."

Quick start

npm install
npm run dev
# open http://localhost:3000

Requires Node 18.17+ (Node 20 LTS recommended).

What's built

Area	Path	Status
Landing page (hero = the 28 letters)	app/page.tsx	✅ working
Alphabet explorer + per-letter detail pages	app/alphabet · app/alphabet/[slug]	✅ working
Module lessons (vowels, consonants, numerals, accents-tones, writing-system)	app/learn/lessons · components/LessonShell.tsx	✅ working
Typing practice (score/accuracy/WPM, physical + on-screen keyboard)	app/learn/typing · components/TypingPractice.tsx	✅ working
ADLaM writer keyboard	app/learn/keyboard · components/AdlamKeyboard.tsx	✅ working
Flashcards (flip study: letters + words)	app/learn/flashcards · components/Flashcards.tsx	✅ working
Tiered exam (recognize / scramble / spell) + keyboard typing	app/learn/exam · components/ExamSession.tsx · components/AdlamKeys.tsx	✅ working
SRS review session	app/learn/review · components/ReviewSession.tsx	✅ working
Culture (story + proverbs)	app/culture	✅ working
Local profile + progress dashboard	app/login · app/dashboard · components/Dashboard.tsx	✅ working
Library	app/library	🔲 stub
Header / Footer / Language switcher	components/	✅ working
5-locale i18n with RTL flip	lib/i18n.ts	✅ working
ADLaM data model (Unicode-derived) + keyboard layout	data/adlam.ts · data/keyboardLayout.ts	✅ working
Spaced-repetition scheduler (SM-2-lite) + mastery store	lib/srs.ts · lib/masteryStore.ts	✅ working (localStorage)

State is client-side (localStorage) via lib/masteryStore.ts, lib/typingStore.ts, lib/examStore.ts, and lib/profile.ts — the seam for a future backend.

Architecture decisions (why it's built this way)

• RTL-first. Switching the UI to Fulfulde (ADLaM) or Arabic flips document.dir to rtl, and all layout uses logical properties/flow-relative Tailwind utilities (ms-, me-) so the whole shell mirrors for free. Never use ml-/mr- in new components — use ms-/me-.
• Fonts are a product feature. ADLaM text renders with Noto Sans Adlam (loaded from Google Fonts in app/layout.tsx). The .adlam CSS class forces the font + RTL isolation for any embedded ADLaM text. Production upgrade: switch to next/font/google to self-host the fonts at build time — no runtime Google request, which matters on low-bandwidth connections.
• Letters are generated from Unicode code points, not hardcoded glyph strings — one source of truth in data/adlam.ts (U+1E900–U+1E95F).
• SRS is a first-class primitive. lib/srs.ts is deliberately tiny; when a backend lands, persist MasteryRecord[] per user and the review queue, streaks, and mastery rings from the wireframe all fall out of it.
• i18n is client-side and minimal on purpose. When SEO-per-locale matters, migrate to next-intl with /{locale}/ routing; the dictionary shape in lib/i18n.ts ports directly.

⚠️ Verify with native speakers

• Romanizations in data/adlam.ts are approximate teaching aids.
• Fulfulde UI strings in lib/i18n.ts (both scripts) are provisional drafts — review across Pulaar / Pular / Fulfulde varieties before launch.

Roadmap (suggested order)

Done: letter detail pages, module lessons, typing practice, writer keyboard, flashcards, tiered exam, SRS review, culture pages, local profile + dashboard.

Next:

1. Auth + persistence — move mastery/typing/exam/profile server-side (Supabase [auth+Postgres] or Postgres + Prisma + Auth.js). Seam is lib/profile.ts + the stores.
2. Vetted content — replace provisional words/proverbs/romanizations with native-speaker-reviewed material; add real example-word assets/images.
3. Audio + stroke order — record native-speaker letter audio; add stroke-order/tracing SVGs on lesson pages.
4. Course player — modules, lessons, certificates, instructor grading.
5. Handwriting canvas — trace letters on touch devices.
6. PWA / offline — cache the shell + current unit for low-bandwidth learners.

Contributing

Person-named branches keep work separate (e.g. abubakar/..., Kienda/...); commit authorship is recorded per commit. Typecheck before pushing:

git clone https://github.com/Dialloni/ALKULE.git
git checkout -b <you>/<feature>
npx tsc --noEmit      # must pass

Do not run npm run build while npm run dev is running — it clobbers .next. See CLAUDE.md for conventions (RTL, Noto Sans Adlam) and the full directory map.

Community resources

Tabalde · Akweeyo · Endangered Alphabets (ADLaM) — linked in the site footer as the wider ecosystem this project serves.