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License:
NOODL-1.0
Steward:
Institute of African Digital HumanitiesDataset ID:
cmqj78cue01ktnr07x7nkz6cp
Release Date: 6/18/2026
Format: MP3, TSV
Size: 47.47 MB
Sample-Ngomba-TTS-Dataset is a scripted speech dataset dedicated to the documentation and technological development of Ngomba (ISO 639-3: jgo), a Grassfields Bantu language spoken in the Bamboutos Division of the West Region of Cameroon. The dataset was compiled in the framework of the Mozilla Data Collective initiative (2026). The dataset comprises 1033 high-quality audio recordings of Ngomba sentences read by a native speaker across 11 recording sessions (predominantly MP3 format, with 2 recordings in WAV format in session 07), together with per-session sentence-to-audio mapping files enabling precise alignment between textual and acoustic data. Sentences were drawn from a scripted speech prompt list and read in a controlled environment. The transcription of all sentences follows the General Alphabet of Cameroon's Languages (AGLC; French acronym: Alphabet Général des Langues du Cameroun), the reference standard for Cameroonian national languages. The Ngomba orthography employed in this dataset is distinguished by an extended vowel inventory — including the open-mid front unrounded vowel ɛ, the open-mid back rounded vowel ɔ, the high central rounded vowel ʉ (barred u), and the vowel ʉ̈ (barred u with diaeresis), which functions as a distinct phonemic grapheme in Ngomba — as well as a series of labialized consonants written by appending ẅ (w with diaeresis) to the base consonant (e.g., gẅ, sẅ, cẅ, kẅ, tsẅ), a multi-register tone-marking system combining level (acute, grave) and contour (caron, circumflex) diacritics applied to vowels and syllabic nasals, and the Latin small letter saltillo (ꞌ, U+A78C) for glottal closure. The parallel availability of AGLC-transcribed text and aligned speech makes the dataset suitable for a wide range of applications, including text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis, automatic speech recognition (ASR), forced alignment, pronunciation modelling, and language learning tools. It also directly supports efforts to standardise and normalise the digital representation of Ngomba in language technology contexts.
Licensing
Nwulite Obodo Open Data Licence 1.0 (NOODL-1.0)
https://licensingafricandatasets.com/nwulite-obodo-licenseBy downloading this dataset, you agree:
You agree not to use the data for: determining the identity of any speaker in the dataset; attempting to clone any voice or train models that imitate any speaker in this dataset; Generative AI; reproduction; duplication; modification; augmentation; copying; distribution; transmission; display; sale; transfer; publication or creation of derivative works without the explicit permission of the legal owner of the dataset.
Intended Use
(a) Speech-related tasks: - Text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis: The dataset provides clean sentence–audio pairs from multiple recording sessions and is directly suited for training, fine-tuning, and evaluating speech synthesis models for Ngomba. The availability of AGLC-transcribed sentences with aligned audio enables the development of TTS systems capable of producing natural-sounding Ngomba speech. - Automatic speech recognition (ASR): Audio–text alignment enables the training and evaluation of speech recognition models for Ngomba. The per-session structure and controlled recording conditions make the dataset suitable for building and evaluating ASR models for this under-resourced language. - Speech–text alignment / forced alignment benchmarking: Fine-grained audio–text pairing provides ground truth for evaluating phoneme- or word-level aligners adapted to Grassfields Bantu languages of the Bamboutos area. - Pronunciation modelling: The AGLC-transcribed sentences, combined with aligned audio, provide a resource for developing grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) models and pronunciation lexicons for Ngomba. (b) Linguistic and lexicographic tasks: - Phonological analysis: The dataset enables systematic study of the phonological and tonal system of Ngomba, including its multi-register tone system, extended vowel inventory (ɛ, ɔ, ʉ, ʉ̈), labialized consonant series (gẅ, sẅ, cẅ, kẅ, tsẅ, etc.), and the behaviour of syllabic nasals (ḿ, ń, ǹ, ŋ́) as tone-bearing units. - Orthographic standardisation and normalisation: The dataset can serve as a reference corpus for evaluating and training text normalisation models aligned with the AGLC standard for Ngomba. - Language documentation: The dataset contributes to the digital documentation of Ngomba scripted speech in AGLC orthography, supporting efforts to extend the digital presence of this Grassfields Bantu language of the Bamboutos Division, West Region of Cameroon.
Ngomba (ISO 639-3: jgo) is a Grassfields Bantu language belonging to the Niger-Congo phylum, classified within the Mbam-Nkam branch. It is spoken in the Bamboutos Division of the West Region of Cameroon, where it belongs to the Central-Bamileke cluster alongside Mengaka, Ngombale, and Ngiemboon (Breton & Bikia Fohtung 1991). Despite its sociolinguistic significance within the Bamileke cultural area of Cameroon, Ngomba remains substantially underrepresented in language technology resources.
According to the Administrative Atlas of Cameroon's Languages (Breton & Bikia Fohtung 1991), Ngomba comprises the following dialects:
The writing system used for the transcription of Ngomba in this dataset is the General Alphabet of Cameroon's Languages (AGLC). The AGLC provides a phonologically motivated orthographic standard for Cameroonian national languages and serves as the reference framework for Ngomba literacy materials.
The vowel system attested in the dataset includes the following oral vowels:
a, e, i, o, u, ɛ, ɔ, ʉ, ʉ̈
Where:
Long vowels are represented by vowel doubling (e.g., aa, ɛɛ, ɔɔ, uu, ʉʉ).
The consonant inventory reflected in the dataset includes simple, digraph, and labialized consonants:
b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s, sh, t, v, w, y, z, ŋ
Labialized consonants are formed by appending ẅ (w with diaeresis, U+1E85) to the base consonant or cluster:
Special symbols:
Ngomba attests syllabic nasal consonants that function as tone-bearing units. The following tone-marked syllabic nasals are represented in the dataset:
Ngomba is a tonal language with multiple contrastive pitch levels and contour tones. The dataset employs systematic tone marking on vowels and syllabic nasals in accordance with the AGLC convention. The following diacritics are attested in the dataset:
Level tones:
Contour tones:
Mid tone is generally left unmarked in the Ngomba AGLC orthography.
The dataset was compiled from scripted speech prompt lists read by a native speaker. Sentences were selected to provide broad phonological coverage of Ngomba and were transcribed in accordance with the AGLC orthographic standard.
The dataset represents scripted speech in Ngomba, covering a broad range of everyday sentence types drawn from a general-purpose TTS/ASR prompt list. All utterances are scripted rather than spontaneous.
Total audio duration: 3,978 seconds (01h 06m 18s), distributed across 1033 audio clips in 11 recording sessions.
The dataset is organised into 11 recording sessions:
Each session folder contains:
| audio file | sentence (Ngomba, AGLC) |
|---|---|
| 8ee4d1075531663ae1a33aaf4d1024c0.mp3 | Má ka ŋgɔ́ njʉ̈ɔ́ mɔ́ɔ mɛtap pɔ ku wɛ |
| b4281986fcc6921aa360078b8136a25a.mp3 | Tǎa cẅímankɔ' gá ŋ́kap yaa nɛ́mɔ |
| e9b2e5ce93602762b6689cda32a85efe.mp3 | Ŋ gẅɛɛ nɛgʉ tʉ́sɔn ŋkɔɔnɛ |
| a591642f8e41460b6cf4632b359d862f.mp3 | Ɛ píkŋɛ nɛ́ jʉ̈ɔ́ pʉ̈ɔ pɛ́nɛ́túgɛ́ |
| 454833864f3c4e15de1709f1f8ff9254.mp3 | Pɔ́p ká kwɛ́tyúu pɔ́ tɛ fú mbaꞌámbaꞌá |