Tonal language

Bambara speech dataset

We source Bambara speech data to order: speaker recruitment, recording, transcription and annotation, delivered with the consent documentation that makes the dataset usable rather than merely delivered.

A person seen from behind pressing both hands against their headphones, in black and white

What makes Bambara hard to collect

Bambara is tonal, and tone marking in writing is inconsistent. It is also the lingua franca of Mali with a large number of non-native speakers, so speaker background needs to be recorded.

This is the part that cannot be templated. Every language has a specific failure mode, and a project that does not plan for it produces data that looks complete and trains badly.

Language profile

LanguageBambara
Primary regionSub-Saharan Africa
Writing systemLatin
Collection difficultyTonal language

What we deliver for Bambara

  • Collection to your specification

    Scripted or unscripted, in the language, domain and conditions your task needs. Specified separately where the variants need different contributor pools.

  • Labels to your convention

    Orthographic, phonetic or categorical, with the guideline written before production and shared with you for review.

  • Contributor metadata

    The attributes that let you slice the set rather than take it whole. The ones your task turns on, not a fixed list.

  • Consent documentation

    Signed contributor consent covering the intended use, plus collection methodology and the annotation guideline.

  • Pilot batch

    A small batch first, which you can reject. Misalignments surface after a few hours rather than at delivery.

  • Delivery in your format

    File format, structure, segmentation and metadata schema set to your pipeline's requirements.

Questions we get about Bambara

How many distinct speakers can you provide for Bambara?

It depends on the specification and the timeline, and we will give a real number rather than a target. Speaker recruitment is usually the step that sets the schedule for Bambara, so the answer to this question is also the answer to how long the project takes.

Can you annotate to a custom guideline?

Yes, and for Bambara we would recommend it. The default conventions for this language leave several decisions open, and those decisions are exactly where annotators diverge. Send us your guideline, or we will draft one and you can review it before production.

Do you offer a sample before we commit?

Yes. Select a free sample in the request form and describe what you need. A pilot batch is the cheapest way to establish whether the quality bar is reachable before committing to a full run.

What if Bambara is not something you can source?

Then we will tell you rather than take the order. We would rather decline a project than deliver something that does not meet the specification.

Other languages in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Amharic

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

    • Script conversion
  • Yoruba

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin (diacritics)

    • Tone system
  • Swahili

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin

    • Dialect split
  • Hausa

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin / Ajami

    • Dual script
  • Igbo

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin

    • Dialect split
  • Twi (Akan)

    Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin

    • Tone system

Request Bambara speech data

Tell us the language, the hours, and what the data needs to look like. You will get a real number and a real timeline, not a range. If we cannot source it well, we will tell you that instead.

  • Pilot batch before the full run, so problems surface early.
  • Consent documentation delivered with the data.
  • No medical or clinical data. No recorded telephone calls.

We reply within two business days. Your details are used only to answer this request. See our privacy policy.

  1. You send the spec Language, hours, recording conditions, and the deadline.
  2. We reply within two business days A real number and a real timeline, not a range.
  3. You approve a pilot batch A small run first, so problems surface before the full order.
  4. Full run, then delivery with documents Audio, transcripts, and the consent record for every speaker.
Contact

Talk to a human

Send a specification and we will come back with a real number and timeline.

Submit a sourcing request

Or use the contact form