DEFOREST, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman has made it her mission to spread knowledge of her Hmong language through a self-developed app. 

Wisconsin is home to the third-largest Hmong population in the country. When families came here after the Vietnam War, pieces of their culture would be left behind. 

Annie Vang is determined to change that. 

“I was first introduced to an Apple computer when I was in sixth grade,” she said.

She took all the classes she could, which, at the time, was mostly just typing. 

“I actually asked a teacher once, ‘How do I make those things?’ I didn’t know what the word ‘program’ or ‘application’ was, I was just like, 'I want to make those things on the computer,'” she said. 

The answer would have an influence on her life for years to come. 

“She said, ‘I don't think you could do it. Because you're not a boy. And you're not a genius’.” 

It’s an experience too many women and girls are too familiar with. 

“I felt so humiliated by asking that question. But then I also felt really sad,” Vang said. “Like, oh, I guess that should not even be something I should even dream about.” 

She ended up going to University of Wisconsin-Madison to study nursing, and dropped out when she realized she wasn’t passionate about it. 

Later, she’d end up going back to school at 26, with her husband’s support, while they raised their son. 

In 2011, she knew exactly how she wanted to use all the experience she was gaining. 

“We came to the United States when I was two years old,” she said. “We were refugees. I was actually born in Thailand in a refugee camp.” 

It’s a familiar touchstone for immigrant and refugee families: the juxtaposition of being in this entirely new environment, versus holding onto those cultural bonds. 

“I only grew up speaking Hmong. I did not know how to read or write Hmong,” Vang said. “[There was] limited, very limited literature for my parents to read to us. So we didn't actually know how words were spelled, how sentences were constructed.” 

That’s what she set out to change. She wanted to help others learn to read, write, and speak Hmong. 

She created the HmongPhrases app and put it on the Apple app store. It’s broken down by category, has spelling and pronunciation examples, and even breaks down small sounds. 

Vang and her family speak the Hmong Green dialect, while many other Hmong language sources are of the Hmong White dialect. Her app often includes both. 

The HmongPhrases app has thousands of downloads now. 

“I also get a lot of comments saying that … I don't know how to speak it to my grandma. But at least now I can learn in my own private time without feeling embarrassed,” she said. “A Hmong person of Hmong heritage, but you cannot speak your own language. And therefore, it makes you feel less than the ideal. That’s how I felt growing up. And I never want anyone to feel that way.” 

Vang was chosen for a coveted spot in Apple’s E-Camp for Female Founders and Developers over the summer. She was the only American woman included. She said it brought her a lot of valuable insight and support to be with other women developers. 

She hopes other Hmong families get lasting value in the app, and can help preserve their culture. 

“I appreciate that people are using it, practicing it. And just embracing our language and sharing it with others.”