Hausa MFA dictionary v3.0.0#

Maintainer: Montreal Forced Aligner
Language: Hausa
Dialect: N/A
Phone set: MFA
Number of words: 7,788
Phones: aj˥ aj˥˦ aj˩ aw˥ aw˥˦ aw˩ aː˥ aː˥˦ aː˩ a˥ a˥˦ a˩ b c cʼ d dʒ eː˥ eː˥˦ eː˩ e˥ e˥˦ e˩ h iː˥ iː˥˦ iː˩ j j̰ k kʷ kʷʼ kʼ l m n oː˥ oː˥˦ oː˩ o˥ o˩ p r s sʼ t tʃ uː˥ uː˥˦ uː˩ w z ŋ ɓ ɔ˥ ɔ˩ ɗ ə˥ ə˩ ɛ˥ ɛ˥˦ ɛ˩ ɟ ɡ ɡʷ ɪ˥ ɪ˥˦ ɪ˩ ɲ ɸ ɽ ʃ ʊ˥ ʊ˥˦ ʊ˩ ʔ
License: CC BY 4.0
Compatible MFA version: v3.0.0
Citation:

@techreport{mfa_hausa_mfa_dictionary_2024,
	author={McAuliffe, Michael and Sonderegger, Morgan},
	title={Hausa MFA dictionary v3.0.0},
	address={\url{https://mfa-models.readthedocs.io/pronunciation dictionary/Hausa/Hausa MFA dictionary v3_0_0.html}},
	year={2024},
	month={Feb},
}

If you have comments or questions about this dictionary or its phone set, you can check previous MFA model discussion posts or create a new one.

Acoustic models

Hausa MFA acoustic model v3.0.0

Installation#

Install from the MFA command line:

mfa model download dictionary hausa_mfa

Or download from the release page.

The dictionary available from the release page and command line installation has pronunciation and silence probabilities estimated as part acoustic model training (see Silence probability format and training pronunciation probabilities for more information. If you would like to use the version of this dictionary without probabilities, please see the [plain dictionary](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MontrealCorpusTools/mfa-models/main/dictionary/hausa/mfa/Hausa MFA dictionary v3_0_0.dict).

Intended use#

This dictionary is intended for forced alignment of Hausa transcripts.

This dictionary uses the MFA phone set for Hausa, and was used in training the Hausa MFA acoustic model. Pronunciations can be added on top of the dictionary, as long as no additional phones are introduced.

Performance Factors#

When trying to get better alignment accuracy, adding pronunciations is generally helpful, especially for different styles and dialects. The most impactful improvements will generally be seen when adding reduced variants that involve deleting segments/syllables common in spontaneous speech. Alignment must include all phones specified in the pronunciation of a word, and each phone has a minimum duration (by default 10ms). If a speaker pronounces a multisyllabic word with just a single syllable, it can be hard for MFA to fit all the segments in, so it will lead to alignment errors on adjacent words as well.

Ethical considerations#

Deploying any Speech-to-Text model into any production setting has ethical implications. You should consider these implications before use.

Demographic Bias#

You should assume every machine learning model has demographic bias unless proven otherwise. For pronunciation dictionaries, it is often the case that transcription accuracy and lexicon coverage for the prestige variety modeled in this dictionary compared to other variants. If you are using this dictionary in production, you should acknowledge this as a potential issue.

IPA Charts#

Consonants#

Obstruent symbols to the left of are unvoiced and those to the right are voiced.

Manner	Labial	Alveolar	Alveopalatal	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m Occurrences: 1,791 Examples: * yamma: [j ɛ˥ m aː˩] * same: [s a˥ m eː˩] * harma: [h a˥ r m aː˩] * maye: [m aː˩ j eː˥]	n Occurrences: 2,052 Examples: * wanda: [w a˩ n d aː˥] * sanar: [s ə˥ n a˩ r] * cana: [tʃ aː˥ n aː˩] * ginin: [ɟ ɪ˥ n ɪ˥ ŋ]			ɲ Occurrences: 134 Examples: * hange: [h ɛ˥ ɲ ɟ eː˥] * banki: [b ɛ˥ ɲ c iː˩] * cinye: [tʃ ɪ˥ ɲ j eː˥] * kenya: [c eː˥ ɲ j aː˩]	ŋ Occurrences: 1,866 Examples: * zanga: [z a˥ ŋ ɡ aː˥] * ayan: [ʔ ɛ˩ j ŋ] * daban: [d ə˥ b a˩ ŋ] * hawan: [h a˩ w a˥˦ ŋ]
Stop Plain	p Occurrences: 98 Examples: * spain: [s p ɪ˩ ŋ] * gypsy: [ɡʷ j p s j] * piper: [p ɪ˩ p eː˥ r] * panda: [p a˩ n d aː˥] b Occurrences: 1,179 Examples: * abu: [ʔ a˩ b ʊ˩] * boye: [b oː˩ j eː˥] * bawan: [b aː˥ w a˥˦ ŋ] * bao: [b ə˥ o˥]	t Occurrences: 1,547 Examples: * tasi: [t aː˩ s iː˥˦] * tace: [t ə˩ tʃ eː˩] * titi: [t iː˥ t iː˩] * tabar: [t ə˥ b a˩ r] d Occurrences: 1,112 Examples: * daren: [d ə˩ ɽ eː˥ ŋ] * danja: [d a˥ n dʒ ə˩] * fadi: [ɸ aː˥ d iː˩] * kide: [c ɪ˥ d e˩]			c Occurrences: 564 Examples: * dakin: [d aː˥ c ɪ˩ ŋ] * kek: [c eː˥ k] * mbeki: [m b eː˥ c iː˩] * kidan: [c ɪ˩ d a˥˦ ŋ] ɟ Occurrences: 199 Examples: * gig: [ɟ ɪ˩ ɟ] * gefen: [ɟ eː˥ ɸ ɛ˥ ŋ] * tsage: [sʼ ə˥ ɟ eː˥] * gidan: [ɟ ɪ˩ d a˥˦ ŋ]	k Occurrences: 1,051 Examples: * rock: [r o˩ k] * kashe: [k ə˥ ʃ e˥] * karku: [k a˥ r kʷ ʊ˩] * kika: [c ɪ˥ k aː˩] kʷ Occurrences: 627 Examples: * kula: [kʷ ʊ˥ l aː˩] * kwai: [kʷ aj˥] * kuma: [kʷ uː˥ m aː˩] * kunun: [kʷ ʊ˩ n ɪ˩ ŋ] ɡ Occurrences: 416 Examples: * gansu: [ɡ ə˩ n s ɪ˩] * daga: [d ə˥ ɡ aː˥] * dinga: [d ɪ˩ ŋ ɡ aː˥] * gadi: [ɡ ə˩ d iː˥] ɡʷ Occurrences: 331 Examples: * grant: [ɡʷ r a˥ n t] * guiwa: [ɡʷ ʊ˩ iː˥ w aː˩] * ango: [ʔ a˥ ŋ ɡʷ o˩] * hagu: [h aː˥ ɡʷ ʊ˩]	ʔ Occurrences: 1,012 Examples: * ihu: [ʔ ɪ˥ h ʊ˩] * akan: [ʔ a˥ k a˩ ŋ] * apple: [ʔ a˩ p p l eː˩] * afuwa: [ʔ a˩ ɸ ʊ˩ w aː˥]
Implosive	ɓ Occurrences: 81 Examples: * keɓe: [c eː˥ ɓ e˩] * ɓata: [ɓ aː˥ t aː˩] * leɓen: [l eː˥ ɓ e˩ ŋ] * taɓin: [t ə˩ ɓ ɪ˩ ŋ]	ɗ Occurrences: 186 Examples: * kaɗan: [k ə˥ ɗ a˥˦ ŋ] * ɗumi: [ɗ ɪ˥ m iː˥] * haɗe: [h a˥ ɗ eː˥] * ɗina: [ɗ ɪ˥ n aː˩]
Ejective					cʼ Occurrences: 67 Examples: * shaƙe: [ʃ ə˩ cʼ eː˩] * yaƙi: [j ɛ˥ cʼ iː˥] * yaƙin: [j ɛ˩ cʼ ɪ˥ ŋ] * baƙi: [b ə˥ cʼ iː˥]	kʷʼ Occurrences: 109 Examples: * saƙo: [s aː˩ kʷʼ o˥] * ƙwan: [kʷʼ a˥˦ ŋ] * ƙofa: [kʷʼ oː˥ ɸ aː˩] * ƙwai: [kʷʼ aj˥] kʼ Occurrences: 171 Examples: * ƙare: [kʼ aː˥ ɽ eː˩] * ƙaru: [kʼ ə˩ r uː˥] * tuƙa: [t uː˥ kʼ aː˩] * ƙawar: [kʼ aː˥ w a˥ r]
Affricate			tʃ Occurrences: 581 Examples: * bace: [b ə˩ tʃ eː˩] * cikas: [tʃ ɪ˥ k a˩ s] * baci: [b ə˩ tʃ iː˥] * cult: [tʃ uː˥ l t] dʒ Occurrences: 576 Examples: * wajen: [w ə˥ dʒ eː˥ ŋ] * juri: [dʒ ɪ˥ ɽ iː˥] * jun: [dʒ ɪ˥ ŋ] * jam: [dʒ a˩ m]
Sibilant Plain		s Occurrences: 1,516 Examples: * sanya: [s ɛ˥ ɲ j aː˩] * safai: [s ə˥ ɸ aj˥] * sa'ar: [s ə˥ ʔ a˩ r] * sunyi: [s ɪ˩ n j iː˥] z Occurrences: 372 Examples: * zaria: [z aː˥ ɽ ɪ˥ aː˩] * gaz: [ɡ ə˩ z] * banza: [b a˩ n z aː˩] * zargi: [z aː˥ ɽ ɟ iː˥]	ʃ Occurrences: 458 Examples: * shafi: [ʃ aː˥ ɸ iː˩] * tashe: [t ə˥ ʃ e˥] * fushi: [ɸ ʊ˥ ʃ iː˥] * shiga: [ʃ ɪ˥ ɡ aː˩]
Ejective		sʼ Occurrences: 239 Examples: * watsa: [w aː˥ sʼ aː˩] * dutse: [d uː˥ sʼ eː˩] * tsaka: [sʼ ə˥ k aː˥] * tsaye: [sʼ ɛ˩ j eː˥]
Fricative	ɸ Occurrences: 749 Examples: * afuwa: [ʔ a˩ ɸ ʊ˩ w aː˥] * franc: [ɸ r a˥ n tʃ] * fin: [ɸ ɪ˩ ŋ] * kofa: [kʷ oː˥ ɸ aː˩]						h Occurrences: 756 Examples: * sahu: [s ə˩ h ʊ˩] * haura: [h aw˥ r aː˩] * anhui: [ʔ a˥ ŋ h uː˥ iː˩] * hatta: [h a˩ t aː˥]
Approximant	w Occurrences: 1,009 Examples: * wanna: [w a˥ n aː˩] * new: [n eː˥ w] * wanka: [w a˥ ŋ k aː˥] * kaiwa: [k aj˥ w aː˥]				j Occurrences: 1,213 Examples: * waya: [w ɛ˥ j aː˩] * yashi: [j ɛ˩ ə˩ ʃ iː˥] * wayin: [w aː˥ j ɪ˩ ŋ] * sauyi: [s aw˥ j iː˥]
Tap				ɽ Occurrences: 879 Examples: * garke: [ɡ a˩ ɽ c eː˥] * raywa: [ɽ aː˩ j w aː˥] * rayar: [ɽ aː˩ j ɛ˥ r] * turo: [t ɪ˩ ɽ oː˩]
Trill		r Occurrences: 2,030 Examples: * reza: [r eː˥ z aː˩] * cire: [tʃ ɪ˥ r eː˩] * tarar: [t ə˥ r a˩ r] * ciyar: [tʃ ɪ˥ j ɛ˥ r]
Lateral		l Occurrences: 1,278 Examples: * lalle: [l a˥ l eː˩] * silba: [s iː˥ l b aː˩] * lasa: [l aː˥ s aː˩] * lotus: [l oː˥ t ɪ˩ s]

Vowels#

Vowel symbols to the left of are unrounded and those to the right are rounded.

	Front	Near-Front	Central	Near-Back	Back
Close	i Occurrences: 0 Examples: iː Occurrences: 1,429 Examples: * fili: [ɸ iː˥ l iː˥] * yini: [j iː˥ n iː˩] * amini: [ʔ a˩ m iː˥ n iː˩] * tasi: [t aː˩ s iː˥˦]				u Occurrences: 0 Examples: uː Occurrences: 598 Examples: * mayu: [m aː˥ j uː˩] * tujia: [t uː˥ dʒ ɪ˥ aː˩] * tuƙa: [t uː˥ kʼ aː˩] * yunwa: [j uː˥ n w aː˥]
		ɪ Occurrences: 3,540 Examples: * niu: [n ɪ˥˦ uː˩] * datti: [d a˩ t ɪ˥] * fadin: [ɸ aː˩ d ɪ˥˦ ŋ] * girme: [ɟ ɪ˩ r m eː˩]		ʊ Occurrences: 1,189 Examples: * hubei: [h ʊ˥ b eː˥ iː˩] * kunya: [kʷ ʊ˥ ɲ j aː˥] * kunne: [kʷ ʊ˥˦ n eː˥] * ruwan: [ɽ ʊ˥ w a˩ ŋ]
Close-Mid	e Occurrences: 208 Examples: * tonne: [t oː˥ n e˥] * dambe: [d a˥ m b e˥] * abune: [ʔ a˩ b ʊ˩ n e˥] * house: [h oː˥ uː˩ e˩] eː Occurrences: 1,093 Examples: * hotel: [h oː˥ t eː˥ l] * kike: [c ɪ˥ c eː˥] * karen: [k a˥ ɽ eː˥ ŋ] * delhi: [d eː˩ l h iː˩]				o Occurrences: 99 Examples: * ɗauko: [ɗ aw˥ c o˥] * goro: [ɡʷ oː˥ r o˩] * yabo: [j aː˥ b o˥] * agogo: [ʔ a˩ ɡʷ oː˥ ɡʷ o˥] oː Occurrences: 1,139 Examples: * dawo: [d ə˥ w oː˩] * sayo: [s aː˩ j oː˥˦] * kwazo: [kʷ aː˥ z oː˥] * kogi: [kʷ oː˩ ɟ iː˥]
			ə Occurrences: 2,801 Examples: * janye: [dʒ ə˩ ɛ˥ ɲ j eː˥] * daban: [d ə˥ b a˩ ŋ] * baƙi: [b ə˥ cʼ iː˥] * alaƙa: [ʔ a˩ l ə˥ kʼ ə˩]
Open-Mid	ɛ Occurrences: 538 Examples: * uniya: [ʔ ʊ˥ n ɪ˥ j ɛ˩] * asean: [ʔ ɛ˥ a˥˦ ŋ] * miyan: [m ɪ˥ j ɛ˩ ŋ] * siyar: [s ɪ˩ j ɛ˥ r]				ɔ Occurrences: 80 Examples: * rabon: [ɽ ə˥ b ɔ˩ ŋ] * dokan: [d ɔ˥ k a˩ ŋ] * dokar: [d ɔ˥ k a˩ r] * biron: [b ɪ˩ r ɔ˩ ŋ]

Open			a Occurrences: 3,140 Examples: * ranan: [ɽ ə˥ n a˩ ŋ] * joe: [dʒ a˩ eː˩] * karɓa: [k a˥ r ɓ ə˥] * gadar: [ɡ ə˩ d a˥˦ r] aː Occurrences: 4,471 Examples: * sura: [s uː˩ r aː˥] * ɗana: [ɗ aː˥ n aː˩] * yasan: [j aː˥ s a˩ ŋ] * abada: [ʔ a˩ b ə˩ d aː˥˦]

Diphthongs#

aj
aw

Tones#

˥
˥˦
˩