Te Hiku Media Launch ‘Rongo’ To Support The Correct Pronunciation Of Te Reo Māori

Available for download now on the Apple App Store, Rongo is an app designed to get more people speaking te reo Māori with correct pronunciation.

Peter-Lucas Jones, CEO of Te Hiku Media says, “For many people, speaking Māori is the hardest part of learning te reo Māori. There are many barriers and a big one is the fear of mispronunciation. It’s important to pronounce Māori properly to honour and respect the language, and to make oneself understood when speaking. Some people feel judged for getting it wrong and for others they just don’t want to annoy or offend anybody. Rongo is a tool that helps people to correct pronunciation and encourages the development of speaker confidence”.

The app uses a machine learning model to give users feedback on their pronunciation while they work their way through 24 lessons that introduce new sounds and build in complexity. The app focuses on listening to the correct pronunciation of phrases and asks the users to repeat them back while the model listens to them giving real-time, on-device feedback when they’ve done well or if they need more practice on a particular word.

“Te Hiku Media is excited about getting this tool into the hands of Māori language learners. They can tackle pronunciation in the privacy of their own home, in the car or by the beach. Wherever they feel comfortable and safe.”

“The app has been a real collaboration between our Māori language experts, our iwi radio broadcasting production crew, our data scientists, our talented software developers and graphic designers. It was all hands on deck.”

The Rongo app was supported by Te Mātāwai, through the Te Reo Tukutuku fund. In 2019, Te Hiku Media were awarded $13 million by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment for ‘Papa Reo’, a seven year data science project that aims to build a multilingual language platform developing natural language processing tools starting with te reo Māori.

As well as the pronunciation model for te reo Māori, Te Hiku Media has developed the first automatic speech recognition model for te reo Māori and a synthesised voice for te reo Māori using cutting edge technology.

Te Hiku Media, also known as Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, is an iwi radio, media and technology hub based in Kaitāia and was founded in 1991. The not-for-profit, charitable organisation is connected to the five iwi of the Far North; Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu.

Kua whakarewa a Te Hiku Media i a ‘Rongo’ hei tautoko i te whakahua tika i te reo Māori

Kua wātea ināianei hei tiki mai māu i te Apple App Store, he taupānga a Rongo i auahatia ai me kore noa e tokomaha ake te hunga e kōrero ana i te reo Māori me te whakahua tika.

Hei tā Peter-Lucas Jones, tā te Upoko o Te Hiku Media, “Ki te nuinga, ko te kōrero Māori te wāhanga pakeke katoa o te ako i te reo Māori. He nui ngā taupā, ā, ko tētahi ko te wehi kei hē te whakahua. He mea nui tonu kia tika te whakahua i te reo Māori hei whakarangatira, hei whakaute i te reo, waihoki kia mārama ō kōrero ki ētahi atu. Rongo ai ētahi i te whakawā mai a ētahi atu ina hē te whakahua, ā, kāore ētahi atu e hiahia ana ki te whakahōhā, ki te whakaparanga rānei i ētahi atu. He taputapu a Rongo ka āwhina i ngā tāngata kia whakatika i te whakahua, ko tāna hoki he āki i te whanaketanga o te kaha ki te kōrero”.

Whakamahi ai tēnei taupānga i tētahi pūmanawa ako mihīni ki te whakahoki kōrero ki ngā kaimahi mō ō rātou pūkenga whakahua i a rātou ka whakaoti i ngā akoranga e 24 e homai ana i ētahi oro hou, ka pakeke haere, ka pakeke haere i ia akoranga. Ko te mahi i te taupānga, he whakarongo ki te whakahua tika i ētahi kīanga, kātahi ka tonoa te kaimahi māna e toai atu aua kīanga, ā, ka whakarongo te pūmanawa ki a ia, kātahi ka whakahokia atu he kōrero e te pūrere mēnā i pai tāna mahi, mēnā rānei me nui ake te kōrero i tētahi kupu kotahi.

“E hiamo ana a Te Hiku Media kia riro tēnei taputapu i ngā ringaringa o te hunga e ako ana i te reo Māori. Ka mau i a rātou te whakahua tika i te āhuru o ō rātou nā kāinga ake, i runga i te waka, i tātahi rānei, i te wāhi rānei e hāneanea ai, e mauri tau ai rātou.”

“He hua te taupānga nei nō te mahi ngātahi a ngā mātanga reo Māori, a te hunga whakaputa pāpāho i tō tātou reo irirangi ā-iwi, a ngā mātanga raraunga, ā ō mātou pūkenga kaihanga pūmanawa me ngā kaihoahoa whakairoiro hoki. Nā rau ringa i oti ai.”

He mea tautoko te taupānga o Rongo nā Te Mātāwai mā roto mai i te tahua o Te Reo Tukutuku. I te tau 2019, i whakawhiwhia a Te Hiku Media ki te $13 miriona tāra e Hīkina Whakatutuki mō ‘Papa Reo’. He kaupapa rangahau raraunga tēnei, e whitu tau te roa, e whai ana ki te whakatū i tētahi pae reorau e whakarite ana i ētahi taputapu tukanga reo māori nei, tīmata ana mai i te reo Māori tonu.

Hei tāpiri atu ki te pūmanawa whakahua i te reo Māori, kua whakarite a Te Hiku Media i te pūmanawa tuatahi e mātau ana ki te whai aunoa i ngā kōrero i te reo Māori, waihoki kua whakaritea tētahi reo tāhiko mō te reo Māori mā te whakamahi i ngā hangarau hou katoa o te wā.

He reo irirangi a Te Hiku Media, e mōhiotia ana hoki ko Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, he pūtahi pāpāho, hangarau hoki kei Kaitāia i whakatūria ai i te tau 1991. E whaipānga ana te whakahaere monihua kore, ohaoha hoki ki ngā iwi e rima o Te Hiku o Te Ika, arā, ki a Ngāti Kuri, ki a Te Aupōuri, ki a Ngāi Takoto, ki a Te Rarawa me Ngāti Kahu.

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