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AI Text-to-Speech for Indigenous Language Learning

Education & Learning · Translation & Language Access

What it collects

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Indigenous language audio recordings used to train the speech synthesis models. All recordings were obtained with proper licensing and informed consent from the contributing communities.
Run by
National Research Council Canada (NRC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Education & LearningTranslation & Language Access

EveryVoice TTS is an AI system developed by the National Research Council Canada that converts written text in three Indigenous languages — Kanyen'kéha (Mohawk), nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree), and SENĆOŦEN — into realistic spoken audio. It is designed to enrich language-learning materials such as dictionaries and verb conjugation references with accurate pronunciation recordings. The system uses audio recordings collected with proper licensing and informed consent from Indigenous language communities. Users are informed that AI is involved in generating the speech.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Indigenous language audio recordings used to train the speech synthesis models. All recordings were obtained with proper licensing and informed consent from the contributing communities.

Processing

Speech & Audio
  • Text-to-speech synthesis for three Indigenous languages, producing realistic spoken pronunciation from written text using models trained on community-sourced recordings.

What it does

Creating (Generative AI)
Human decides
  • Synthesizes speech audio from input text. A human (e.g. a language educator or dictionary editor) decides which text to submit and how to use the resulting audio in learning materials.

Outputs

Generated content
Anonymized data
  • AI-synthesized spoken audio in Kanyen'kéha, nēhiyawēwin, or SENĆOŦEN, generated from text input and embedded into language-learning reference materials.

Run by

National Research Council Canada (NRC)
  • The NRC Digital Technologies Research Centre is the deploying government body responsible for developing and operating the EveryVoice TTS system on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Government of Canada AI Register — EveryVoice TTS

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Not available to me
  • The system does not collect personal information from users. The register states 'Involves personal information: N', so no individual data access rights apply to end users.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseUsers are informed that AI is used to generate the speech audio in this system. The register entry confirms AI use is disclosed to users.
  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyThe system is listed on the Government of Canada's public AI register, providing general transparency about its purpose, data sources, and development partners. Further technical documentation may be available through the National Research Council.

Risks and safeguards

  • Societal & cultural harmAI-synthesized speech in endangered Indigenous languages could misrepresent pronunciation or cultural nuance, potentially harming revitalization efforts if quality is insufficient.Safeguard: The system was developed in collaboration with Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa, Blue Quills University, and W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, and relies on recordings collected with proper licensing and informed consent, embedding community oversight in the development process.