Une mise a jour pertinente pour les organisations deployant des services vocaux multilingues ou ancres dans des identites regionales complexes.
Cette initiative illustre l'adaptation des modeles de synthese vocale aux specificites culturelles locales et a la souverainete des donnees autochtones, un enjeu cle pour l'acceptabilite et la pertinence des outils d'IA a l'echelle regionale.
Afin de respecter le patrimoine culturel et linguistique local, Google a adapte son assistant de navigation vocale pour l'archipel neozelandais. Le systeme prend en compte la double identite linguistique du pays en articulant correctement les noms de villes et lieux d'origine maorie au sein d'un guidage en anglais.
Impact concret
Les conducteurs et pietons en Nouvelle-Zelande beneficient d'un guidage GPS plus naturel et respectueux des prononciations locales sur Android, iOS, Android Auto et CarPlay.
Applications concrètes
Activer l'option linguistique Anglais (Nouvelle-Zelande) dans les parametres de l'application Google Maps pour obtenir la prononciation exacte des lieux lors des trajets.
Breadcrumb Products & Platforms Products Maps Maps has an authentic new voice in New Zealand Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link The new voice, which speaks English with a Kiwi accent while accurately pronouncing indigenous place names, makes navigation feel genuinely local for New Zealanders. Caroline Rainsford Country Director, Google New Zealand Read AI-generated summary General summary Google Maps now features a new voice for New Zealand users that accurately pronounces indigenous Māori place names. We developed this update with language experts to honor local culture and ensure correct pronunciation of cities and towns. To use this feature, update your app and set your language preference to English (New Zealand). Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Bullet points Google Maps now features a new voice that correctly pronounces Māori place names. This update helps you hear authentic pronunciations of cities and towns across New Zealand. Google worked with language experts to ensure the AI speaks with a Kiwi accent. You can try this feature by setting your language to English (New Zealand). The update is rolling out globally on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay today. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Basic explainer Google Maps now has a new voice for users in New Zealand. It uses AI to correctly pronounce local Māori place names while speaking English with a Kiwi accent. Google worked with language experts to make sure the pronunciations are accurate and respectful. You can try it out today by setting your app language to English (New Zealand). Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Explore other styles: General summary Bullet points Basic explainer Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link Beneath every place name in Aotearoa New Zealand lies a hidden map of history and culture that connects us to our unique country. To recognise this history, we developed a new voice for Google Maps users in New Zealand that can pronounce the indigenous names of cities and towns. Thanks to advances in AI, the new voice, which starts rolling out today, speaks English with a Kiwi accent while accurately pronouncing te reo Māori (the Māori language) place names. New Zealand recognizes te reo Māori as a taonga (treasure). It’s one of two official languages (along with New Zealand Sign Language) and three quarters of New Zealanders said they value te reo Māori as an important part of our country’s culture and identity 1 . So it’s important that when you’re navigating from A to B, “Taranaki” and “Whangārei” are pronounced correctly. Partnering with experts To ensure te reo Māori cities and towns are pronounced correctly, we partnered with language experts from Te Taura Whiri (the Māori Language Commission) and utilised publicly available New Zealand Geographic Board data to build the new voice. “Māori place names carry stories that connect us to our histories, people and achievements,” says Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr, chief executive of Te Taura Whiri. “The first step to unlocking those stories is correct pronunciation. If we can hear the words said correctly, we can say the words correctly.” Planning for the future Māori data sovereignty and Google’s AI Principles were central to the development of this text-to-speech model. Initially Te Taura Whiri will be the kaitiaki (guardians) of te reo Māori lexicon. The long-term plan is to establish a group of custodians of the data to ensure Māori academics, researchers and communities can access and benefit from the data and sustain this kaupapa (mission). The new voice begins rolling out globally today on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay. Make sure your language is set to English (New Zealand) to try it. Get more stories from Google in your inbox. Get more stories from Google in your inbox. Email address Your information will be used in accordance with Google's privacy policy. Subscribe Done. Just one step more. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription. You are already subscribed to our newsletter. You can also subscribe with a different email address . POSTED IN: Maps 1 73% - Verian survey 2025 Related stories Maps Street View opens a new window into Georgia By Cynthia Wei Jun 22, 2026 Search 4 ways soccer fans can catch every moment of the tournament Jun 08, 2026 Maps Travel the world like Dua Lipa with Google Maps By Google Maps Team May 28, 2026 Google DeepMind Simulate real-world places with Project Genie and Street View By Diego Rivas & Jonathan Herbert & Nicole Segaran May 19, 2026 Maps Check out the new ways to explore Route 66 on Google Maps. Apr 30, 2026 Search 7 ways to travel smarter this summer, with help from Google Apr 17, 2026 . Jump to position 1 Jump to position 2 Jump to position 3 Jump to position 4 Jump to position 5 Jump to position 6 Breadcrumb Products & Platforms Products Maps Maps has an authentic new voice in New Zealand Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link The new voice, which speaks English with a Kiwi accent while accurately pronouncing indigenous place names, makes navigation feel genuinely local for New Zealanders. Caroline Rainsford Country Director, Google New Zealand Read AI-generated summary General summary Google Maps now features a new voice for New Zealand users that accurately pronounces indigenous Māori place names. We developed this update with language experts to honor local culture and ensure correct pronunciation of cities and towns. To use this feature, update your app and set your language preference to English (New Zealand). Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Bullet points Google Maps now features a new voice that correctly pronounces Māori place names. This update helps you hear authentic pronunciations of cities and towns across New Zealand. Google worked with language experts to ensure the AI speaks with a Kiwi accent. You can try this feature by setting your language to English (New Zealand). The update is rolling out globally on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay today. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Basic explainer Google Maps now has a new voice for users in New Zealand. It uses AI to correctly pronounce local Māori place names while speaking English with a Kiwi accent. Google worked with language experts to make sure the pronunciations are accurate and respectful. You can try it out today by setting your app language to English (New Zealand). Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Explore other styles: General summary Bullet points Basic explainer Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link Beneath every place name in Aotearoa New Zealand lies a hidden map of history and culture that connects us to our unique country. To recognise this history, we developed a new voice for Google Maps users in New Zealand that can pronounce the indigenous names of cities and towns. Thanks to advances in AI, the new voice, which starts rolling out today, speaks English with a Kiwi accent while accurately pronouncing te reo Māori (the Māori language) place names. New Zealand recognizes te reo Māori as a taonga (treasure). It’s one of two official languages (along with New Zealand Sign Language) and three quarters of New Zealanders said they value te reo Māori as an important part of our country’s culture and identity 1 . So it’s important that when you’re navigating from A to B, “Taranaki” and “Whangārei” are pronounced correctly. Partnering with experts To ensure te reo Māori cities and towns are pronounced correctly, we partnered with language experts from Te Taura Whiri (the Māori Language Commission) and utilised publicly available New Zealand Geographic Board data to build the new voice. “Māori place names carry stories that connect us to our histories, people and achievements,” says Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr, chief executive of Te Taura Whiri. “The first step to unlocking those stories is correct pronunciation. If we can hear the words said correctly, we can say the words correctly.” Planning for the future Māori data sovereignty and Google’s AI Principles were central to the development of this text-to-speech model. Initially Te Taura Whiri will be the kaitiaki (guardians) of te reo Māori lexicon. The long-term plan is to establish a group of custodians of the data to ensure Māori academics, researchers and communities can access and benefit from the data and sustain this kaupapa (mission). The new voice begins rolling out globally today on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay. Make sure your language is set to English (New Zealand) to try it. Get more stories from Google in your inbox. Get more stories from Google in your inbox. Email address Your information will be used in accordance with Google's privacy policy. Subscribe Done. Just one step more. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription. You are already subscribed to our newsletter. You can also subscribe with a different email address . POSTED IN: Maps