Saudi accented Arabic voice bank

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an Arabic speech database that represents Arabic native speakers from all the cities of Saudi Arabia. The database is called the Saudi Accented Arabic Voice Bank (SAAVB). Preparing the prompt sheets, selecting the right speakers and transcribing their speech are some of the challenges that faced the project team. The procedures that met these challenges are highlighted. In the project, 1033 speakers speak in Modern Standard Arabic with a Saudi accent. The SAAVB content was analyzed and the results are illustrated. The content was verified internally by the project team and externally by IBM Cairo and can be used to train speech engines such as automatic speech recognition and speaker verification systems.