When Leah Ayaruaq McKay moved from Qikitarjuaq to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, at the age of 13, she carried more than just her possessions. She brought with her Inuktitut, the Inuit language spoken across the central and eastern Canadian Arctic, as a vital link to her home, culture, and family. However, maintaining that connection proved challenging in Rankin Inlet, where English was the primary language.
“I lost a lot of it,” Leah recalls. “I held on by speaking it during phone calls with my parents and sometimes even to my pets. But it wasn’t the same.”
For Leah, these moments of speaking her language were more than simple communication; they were acts of preservation, a way to hold onto a core part of herself. Years later, now residing in Ottawa, Ontario, Leah’s commitment to Inuktitut took on new significance when she became a key contributor to a project and ongoing collaboration between the Government of Nunavut and Microsoft. The project aimed to launch Inuktitut text-to-speech (TTS) functionality, enhancing accessibility to the language.
This achievement is part of the Preservation and Promotion of Inuktut Through Technology Project, a community-driven initiative designed to integrate Inuktut more fully into daily life throughout Nunavut and beyond. ‘Inuktut’ is the collective term for Inuit languages and dialects spoken in Nunavut, encompassing Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. While Inuktitut is the most widely spoken Inuit language in the region, Inuinnaqtun is primarily spoken in the territory’s western areas.
Through the TTS project, two neural text-to-speech voices, Siqiniq (female) and Taqqiq (male), were developed using Azure AI Speech services and are now accessible across diverse Microsoft platforms. Leah’s role was profoundly personal. Over several weeks of recording sessions, she helped refine the AI model that powers the voices of Siqiniq and Taqqiq. These voices were created using countless hours of audio recordings contributed by Nunavummiut—the people of Nunavut. Leah and others generously shared their language to train Microsoft’s extensive text-to-speech language model to speak Inuktitut. Advanced AI technology subsequently created the voices, which, though distinct from the recordings, mirror native-level proficiency.
“At first, I wasn’t sure if I could capture all the complexities of Inuktitut,” Leah admits. “But as we progressed, I saw how this could help so many people, and it brought me so much joy. I love, love, love this project.”
This accomplishment builds upon prior successes within the Preservation and Promotion of Inuktut Language Project. These include the introduction of text-to-text translation for Inuktitut syllabics in 2021, followed by support for Roman Orthography and Inuinnaqtun in 2022. With the addition of text-to-speech functionality, the possibilities for accessibility and connection are expanded even further. Children can now hear stories in their language, bringing oral traditions to life in classrooms and homes. Elders can share their knowledge more widely, extending invaluable cultural wisdom. Healthcare workers can use the technology to communicate essential medical terms in Inuktitut, improving care and fostering trust. Furthermore, Inuit living far from home can maintain a strong connection to their roots in a way that feels immediate and personal.
For Leah, this project represents more than just technology—it’s about creating a bridge between the past and future. Siqiniq and Taqqiq, named after the sun and the moon, symbolize how Inuktitut is finding new life and visibility in the digital age.
“When I first moved to Ontario, I worried I would lose part of myself,” Leah reflects. “But now, I feel closer to my culture than ever.”
