Sample Mbo-TTS-Dataset

Mbo-TTS-Dataset is a scripted speech dataset dedicated to the documentation and technological development of Mbo (ISO 639-3: mbo), a Bantu language spoken in the Moungo Division of the Littoral Region of Cameroon. The dataset was compiled in the framework of the Mozilla Data Collective initiative (2026), as a supplement to the Common Voice Scripted Speech 25.0 – Mbo dataset (mozilladatacollective.com). The dataset comprises 982 high-quality MP3 audio recordings of Mbo sentences read by a native speaker across 10 recording sessions, 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 Camerounaises), the reference standard for Cameroonian national languages. The Mbo orthography employed in this dataset is distinguished by a rich set of vowel symbols — including the open-mid front unrounded vowel ɛ, the open-mid back rounded vowel ɔ, the mid-central vowel ə (schwa), and the high central rounded vowel ʉ — as well as a multi-register tone-marking system combining level (acute, macron, grave) and contour (caron, circumflex) diacritics applied to all vowel symbols and syllabic nasals. A voiced bilabial implosive consonant is represented by ɓ. Glottal closure is marked by the modifier letter apostrophe (ʼ). 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 Mbo in language technology contexts.