6b. Example - North Macedonia: Suze, a new Female Voice

Updated by Global Symbols with UNICEF ECARO

speech synthesis recording

The development of a new voice for speech synthesis in a language that has no local text to speech options is very exciting and it is even more remarkable that this particular voice is available on Github as an open source application.

UNICEF partnered with Open the Windows and the Speech Group at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEEIT) at the Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM) to jointly develop the Macedonian and Albanian version of Cboard, and a new addition to the local language text-to-speech engines- a Macedonian female natural voice (Suze).

The team worked under guidance from UNICEF’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office and from a team of professors from Zagreb University. The group were assisted by consultants from Melon Inc., Skopje, the Institute of Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov" - Skopje, the Association for Assistive Technologies "Open the Windows", Skopje, and RHVoice.

The work was carried out within the scope of the project "Inclusion of children with disabilities in pre-primary education" funded by the UNICEF office in North Macedonia.

The voice of Suzana Todorovska, student at the Phylological Faculty, UKIM, was recorded in the speech studio at the Department of Electronics at FEEIT in early 2022.