Quechua Speech Synthesizers
摘要
This research addresses the loss of Quechua’s cultural and linguistic heritage, a language classified as endangered according to UNESCO reports. We focused on the Chanca variety of Quechua (Chanca runasimi), spoken in the departments of Andahuaylas, Ayacucho, and Huancavelica, which has approximately one million speakers. The objective of this paper is the implementation of four Quechua text-to-speech synthesizers: Tacotron 2 + WaveNet, FastPitch + WaveGlow, VITS and XTTS v2; using complementary pre-training and fine-tuning, with a data set of 2,300 high-quality recordings. We performed an objective evaluation of the prosodic and spectral quality with F0 RMSE and SECS, and a subjective evaluation of the naturalness and similarity with MOS-N and MOS-S, respectively. The purpose is to provide open resources that support linguistic revitalization and reduce technological barriers in Quechua-speaking communities. The results indicate that the end-to-end XTTS v2 model offers greater naturalness and similarity to the original voice. Differences in fundamental frequency of up to 12 Hz on average and SECS values of around 0.10 were also observed, indicating more accurate and consistent models. Furthermore, the MOS-N and MOS-S scores reached 4.9 and 4.8, respectively, demonstrating strong acceptance of the model among the evaluators. Finally, this approach seeks to contribute to the preservation of the Quechua language through technological resources that promote its use and dissemination in diverse contexts. These synthesizers will facilitate the creation of educational and cultural tools, increase accessibility to the language, and strengthen its relevance in Peru’s society.