Text-to-Speech Languages & Voices

The AfriRoute Voice API converts text into natural-sounding speech for IVR prompts, outbound voice notifications, and call-center announcements. This page lists the supported languages, locales, and voices — including broad coverage for African languages.

Pass a language and (optionally) a voice parameter when creating a call or building an IVR step. If no voice is specified, the default voice for the chosen locale is used.

🗣️ Supported Languages & Voices

Language	Locale	Voice Name	Gender	Notes
English (Nigeria)	`en-NG`	Amara	Female	West African accent
English (Nigeria)	`en-NG`	Tunde	Male	West African accent
English (Kenya)	`en-KE`	Zuri	Female	East African accent
English (South Africa)	`en-ZA`	Thandi	Female
English (US)	`en-US`	Joanna	Female	Neutral fallback
French (West Africa)	`fr-SN`	Aïcha	Female	Senegalese accent
French (France)	`fr-FR`	Léa	Female
Arabic (Egypt)	`ar-EG`	Salma	Female
Arabic (MSA)	`ar-001`	Hamza	Male	Modern Standard Arabic
Swahili	`sw-KE`	Imani	Female
Swahili	`sw-KE`	Baraka	Male
Amharic	`am-ET`	Selam	Female
Amharic	`am-ET`	Dawit	Male
Hausa	`ha-NG`	Hadiza	Female
Yoruba	`yo-NG`	Bisi	Female
Igbo	`ig-NG`	Chioma	Female
Zulu	`zu-ZA`	Nomvula	Female
Xhosa	`xh-ZA`	Lindiwe	Female
Afrikaans	`af-ZA`	Pieter	Male
Somali	`so-SO`	Hodan	Female
Wolof	`wo-SN`	Fatou	Female
Portuguese (Angola)	`pt-AO`	Beatriz	Female

SSML support: All voices accept a subset of SSML for controlling pauses, emphasis, and pronunciation. Wrap your text in <speak>...</speak> to enable it.

🔊 Usage Example

Specify the language and voice when placing an outbound call:

curl -X POST https://api.afriroute.ai/api/v1/voice/calls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRIROUTE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+254712345678",
    "from": "+254700000000",
    "tts": {
      "text": "Habari! Salio lako ni shilingi mia tano.",
      "language": "sw-KE",
      "voice": "Imani"
    }
  }'

const res = await fetch('https://api.afriroute.ai/api/v1/voice/calls', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer $AFRIROUTE_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    to: '+254712345678',
    from: '+254700000000',
    tts: {
      text: 'Habari! Salio lako ni shilingi mia tano.',
      language: 'sw-KE',
      voice: 'Imani'
    }
  })
});
console.log((await res.json()).call_id);

import requests

requests.post(
    'https://api.afriroute.ai/api/v1/voice/calls',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer $AFRIROUTE_API_KEY'},
    json={
        'to': '+254712345678',
        'from': '+254700000000',
        'tts': {
            'text': 'Habari! Salio lako ni shilingi mia tano.',
            'language': 'sw-KE',
            'voice': 'Imani'
        }
    }
)

💡 Best Practices

Match the recipient's locale — use the country-specific locale (e.g. en-NG rather than en-US) for natural pronunciation of local names and currency.
Keep prompts short in IVR menus to reduce caller drop-off.
Use SSML pauses (<break time="500ms"/>) between menu options.
Spell out numbers the way callers expect, or use SSML <say-as> for phone numbers and amounts.

Last Updated: May 2026

🗣️ Supported Languages & Voices​

🔊 Usage Example​

💡 Best Practices​

📚 Related Resources​

🗣️ Supported Languages & Voices

🔊 Usage Example

💡 Best Practices

📚 Related Resources