Koti Speech to Text: Transcribing Ekoti Audio with AI

Introduction to Koti (Ekoti)

Koti, or Ekoti, is a Bantu language spoken by around 100,000 people in the coastal region of Nampula Province, Mozambique, and on the Quirimbas Islands. It is part of the Makhuwa language group (P.30 in Guthrie classification) and is closely related to Makhuwa, though it has its own phonological and lexical characteristics. The language uses the Latin script, but written materials are scarce; most communication remains oral. With Portuguese as the official language and Swahili as a lingua franca, Koti is considered endangered. Accurate speech-to-text technology can play a crucial role in preserving and promoting the language.

Why Accurate Speech-to-Text for Koti Matters

Transcribing Koti audio is essential for several reasons:

• Language documentation: Linguists need reliable transcripts to analyze grammar and vocabulary.
• Cultural preservation: Oral histories, songs, and proverbs can be captured in text for future generations.
• Education: Teachers can create subtitled videos for literacy programs.
• Accessibility: Deaf and hard-of-hearing Koti speakers can access audio content via captions.
• Media production: Community radio and YouTube content can reach wider audiences with subtitles.

Without specialized ASR, transcription must be done manually, which is time-consuming and expensive. Speechyou automates this process with high accuracy.

Specific Challenges in Koti Transcription

Koti poses several challenges for automatic speech recognition:

Tonal Distinctions

Koti uses pitch to differentiate meaning. For example:

• okhuma (high tone) = 'to speak'
• okhuma (low tone) = 'to buy'

Generic ASR systems that ignore tone will produce errors. Speechyou's model is tone-aware and uses pitch tracking to disambiguate.

Prenasalized Stops

Sounds like /mb/, /nd/, /ŋg/ are common in Koti but often merged with plain stops by other systems. Speechyou's acoustic model is trained on Bantu languages to recognize these clusters.

Vowel Harmony and Reduction

Koti has a seven-vowel system with harmony rules. In unstressed syllables, vowels may be reduced to schwa. The model must handle this variability.

Limited Training Data

With few digital resources, building a Koti ASR from scratch is impractical. Speechyou uses transfer learning from related Bantu languages (Makhuwa, Swahili, Yao) and fine-tunes on a small but curated Koti dataset.

Use Cases for Koti Speech-to-Text

• Oral History Archiving: Record elders telling stories, then generate transcripts and subtitles. These become searchable digital records.
• Community Radio: Live transcription of news and talk shows for real-time captions.
• YouTube Subtitles: Koti-language videos can have SRT/VTT subtitles, boosting reach and accessibility.
• Language Learning: Create bilingual subtitles (Koti + Portuguese) for educational videos.
• Research: Anthropologists and linguists can transcribe interviews quickly, focusing on analysis rather than manual typing.
• Accessibility: Provide captions for community events, making them inclusive for the deaf.

How Speechyou Helps

Speechyou is the only major transcription service that supports Koti. It offers:

• Accurate transcription: >95% on clear audio, with dialect options.
• Subtitle generation: Export SRT and VTT files for any video.
• Real-time mode: For live events or radio.
• Custom vocabulary: Add place names, personal names, or technical terms.
• Unlimited usage: Included in the Solo plan.

By using Speechyou, Koti speakers and researchers can overcome the digital divide and ensure the language thrives in the modern world. Try it today and experience the power of AI-driven transcription for Ekoti.