Google Maps has an authentic new voice in New Zealand

Partnering with experts

To ensure te reo Māori cities and towns are pronounced correctly, we partnered with language experts from Te Taura Whiri (the Māori Language Commission) and utilised publicly available New Zealand Geographic Board data to build the new voice.

“Māori place names carry stories that connect us to our histories, people and achievements,” says Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr, chief executive of Te Taura Whiri. “The first step to unlocking those stories is correct pronunciation. If we can hear the words said correctly, we can say the words correctly.”

Planning for the future

Māori data sovereignty and Google’s AI Principles were central to the development of this text-to-speech model. Initially Te Taura Whiri will be the kaitiaki (guardians) of te reo Māori lexicon. The long-term plan is to establish a group of custodians of the data to ensure Māori academics, researchers and communities can access and benefit from the data and sustain this kaupapa (mission).

The new voice begins rolling out globally today on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay. Make sure your language is set to English (New Zealand) to try it.