The University of Ghana, Google Research Africa, and UCL’s Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) are partnering on “t3kyer3ma pa” (“Good Tongue”), an AI initiative designed to enhance communication for individuals with non-standard speech patterns.
More to it
Globally, many individuals with non-standard speech due to conditions like Cerebral Palsy, ALS, stroke, Down Syndrome, or Parkinson’s can face significant barriers in communication.
Current speech recognition technologies frequently have difficulty accurately interpreting non-standard speech, which limits their effectiveness.
The t3kyer3ma pa project aims to address this gap by training AI models to better understand these speech patterns in local languages, ultimately enhancing accessibility and making speech recognition more accessible to Ghanaians with non-standard speech.
This project focuses on improving AI-powered speech recognition technology for five major Ghanaian languages including Akan, Ewe, Ikposo, Dagbani, and Dagaare.
Project Progress
On November 1, a tech talk at Google Ghana highlighted advancements in Project Euphonia, which aims to improve Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) for non-standard speech. This event also marked the beginning of data collection in Ghana for tɛkyerɛma pa.
Voice of stakeholders
Prof Isaac Wiafe, Project Lead / Associate Professor, University of Ghana, said: “We are thrilled to lead this important initiative, which reflects our commitment to using technology to solve real-world challenges. By developing localised AI solutions, we can ensure that more Ghanaians have the opportunity to communicate effectively, regardless of their speech patterns.”
Katrin Tomanek, Senior Research Scientist, Google Research, said: “This project reflects Google’s ongoing commitment to supporting AI research in Africa and ensuring that technological advances benefit everyone, regardless of how they speak. Project ‘t3kyer3ma pa’ builds upon continuous research in making Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) more accessible”
Prof Cathy Hollowaya, Academic Director, GDI Hub, said: “Expanding the reach of AI-powered recognition to more languages is crucial to ensure people living with non-standard speech can communicate more effectively with people and devices in their daily lives. This collaboration will not only benefit individuals in Ghana but also provide valuable insights for global AI development”
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