Punawai Leo — A Hawaiian Voice for Computers

We are building the first natural-sounding Hawaiian-language computer voice — one that pronounces every ʻokina and kahakō correctly, and sounds like a real person.

Your phone can read a text aloud in English, Japanese, dozens of languages. Not in Hawaiian. No phone, no Google, Apple, or Amazon can speak ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi properly. Punawai Leo is changing that.

Why it matters

For keiki and learners — a patient voice that says any Hawaiian word correctly, any time.
For kūpuna and the blind — there is no Hawaiian screen reader today. This would give them one.
For our stories — the vast written Hawaiian record could finally be heard, not only read.
For dignity — of ~7,000 world languages, fewer than 100 have a real computer voice. Hawaiian belongs among them.

The technical foundation is built. The training software runs on our own hardware. A 144-utterance recording script is written and verified — it covers every sound in the language. The path from recording to a working model is 12–16 weeks. We are working with Bishop Museum to secure the reading materials and archival audio.

We need fluent speakers

The voice will carry the quality of whoever records it. That's why we're looking for people who speak Hawaiian naturally — for whom the ʻokina and kahakō are in the ear and the breath, not something you have to think about.

Record your voice

Read aloud from a prepared script in a quiet space we set up. 2–5 hours total, $300 honorarium. You read naturally — we handle the equipment.

Review transcripts

Listen to audio clips and correct any ʻokina or kahakō that are wrong in the written version. Done at your own pace, $30/hour.

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