Does Maraba support Hausa diacritics like ƙ, ɗ, ɓ, and ts?

Yes. Maraba's Hausa engine preserves all diacritics — ƙ, ɗ, ɓ, ts — in both speech recognition transcripts and text-to-speech output. We never lowercase Hausa text, which would destroy phonetic distinctions. This makes our transcripts accurate enough for business records.

Can Maraba handle callers who switch between Hausa and English mid-sentence?

Yes. Code-switching between Hausa and English is very common in northern Nigerian business calls. Maraba detects the language shift in real time and responds naturally in whichever language the caller is using at that moment — no awkward pauses or misunderstandings.

Which Hausa dialects does Maraba support?

Maraba's model is trained on Kano Hausa, the prestige dialect, which is widely understood across all Hausa-speaking states. It also handles common vocabulary variations from Kaduna, Sokoto, Maiduguri, and Abuja's Hausa-speaking communities.

Is Maraba suitable for northern Nigerian pharmacies and clinics that serve Hausa-speaking patients?

Yes — this is one of our core use cases. Pharmacies, clinics, and shops in Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Abuja can configure Maraba to answer in Hausa, take medication queries, give stock information, and log callbacks — all without a Hausa-speaking receptionist being available 24/7.

Can I access Maraba's Hausa STT via API?

Yes. Maraba exposes a REST API at /api/v1/ with an X-API-Key authentication header. You can submit audio for Hausa transcription and receive back a UTF-8 transcript with diacritics preserved. See the developer portal at maraba.ai/developer/ for full documentation.

Hausa AI Voice — Speech Recognition & TTS

What Maraba's Hausa AI actually does

Most voice AI platforms treat Hausa as an afterthought — bolted-on translations with no understanding of tone, phonology, or code-switching. Maraba was built differently.

🎙️

Hausa Speech Recognition (STT)

Maraba transcribes Hausa speech accurately — including tonal variants, common northern accents, and fast conversational speech. Transcripts preserve ƙ, ɗ, ɓ, and ts exactly as spoken.

🔊

Hausa Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Maraba speaks back in natural Hausa — not robotic machine-translated audio. Responses are generated in real time with appropriate pacing, making callers feel genuinely heard.

🔄

Real-time Language Detection

In under 800ms of audio, Maraba identifies whether the caller is speaking Hausa, English, Yoruba, or Igbo — and responds in kind. No prompts, no menus, no "press 1 for Hausa".

🔀

Hausa–English Code-Switching

Northern Nigerian callers often switch languages mid-sentence: "Zan zo gobe, but can you confirm the price?" Maraba tracks both languages simultaneously and never loses the thread of the conversation.

✍️

Diacritic-Safe Transcripts

We never run `.lower()` on Hausa text — doing so destroys ƙ, ɗ, ɓ and other phonetically distinct characters. Your call logs are accurate business records, not broken ASCII.

📋

Structured Call Summaries

After every Hausa call, Maraba produces a structured summary with the caller's intent, key details, and recommended action — delivered to your WhatsApp in English so your whole team can act on it.

Hausa diacritics — handled correctly

Hausa uses several characters not found in standard ASCII. Other AI platforms silently corrupt them. Maraba preserves every one.

ƙejective velar — ƙafa (leg)

ɗimplosive — ɗan (son)

ɓimplosive bilabial — ɓera (rat)

tsejective alveolar — tsada (expensive)

ƴpalatal glide — ƴar (daughter)

When a Kano pharmacy patient says "Ina son ƙwayoyin ciwon kai" (I want headache medicine), the transcription you receive accurately preserves the ƙ. This matters for medical record-keeping, audit logs, and any downstream automation that matches keywords.

How a real Hausa call sounds

This is a realistic example of Maraba handling a call from a Kano patient at a pharmacy — mixing formal Hausa greeting conventions with everyday northern Nigerian speech.

1

Caller dials your Maraba number
Works on MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile. No special app needed — just a regular phone call from any handset in Kano.
2

Maraba detects Hausa in under 800ms
The greeting "Sannu" is enough. Maraba identifies the language and immediately responds in natural Hausa — no menus, no delays.
3

Query answered from your knowledge base
Whether it's stock availability, opening hours, or pricing — Maraba answers from what you've configured. Never fabricates. Never guesses.
4

Summary sent to your WhatsApp
Within 60 seconds of the call ending, you receive a structured summary in English — caller intent, key details, and any action needed.

Live call example — Kano pharmacy

Caller: As-salamu alaykum, ina son sanin ko kuna da Paracetamol 500mg?

Maraba: Wa alaykum as-salam! Eh, muna da Paracetamol 500mg a nan. Kwantena ɗaya ya ƙunshi tablets 20, kuma farashin shi ne ₦350. Kuna so ku zo ku ɗauka, ko kuna son mu ajiye muku?

Caller: Okay, I'll come around 5pm — Kasuwar Kurmi branch ne?

Maraba: Yes, that's right — our Kasuwar Kurmi branch. We're open until 7pm. I'll note your name for the Paracetamol reservation. What's your name, please?

Caller: Musa Aliyu.

Maraba: Na gode, Musa! An ajiye Paracetamol 500mg ɗaya a wurinku. Mu sadu da ku da karfe biyar yammaci.

Integrate Hausa STT via API

Developers can send audio to Maraba's transcription API and receive diacritic-accurate Hausa transcripts. Authentication is header-only — no query params.

# POST audio for Hausa transcription
import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://maraba.ai/api/v1/transcribe/",
    headers={
        "X-API-Key": "your_api_key_here",
        "Accept": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "audio_url": "https://storage.example.com/call-hausa-001.wav",
        "language_hint": "ha",  # ISO 639-1 — Hausa
        "preserve_diacritics": True,  # always true for Hausa
    }
)

transcript = response.json()
# {
#   "text": "Sannu, ina son ƙwayoyin ciwon kai",
#   "language_detected": "ha",
#   "confidence": 0.97,
#   "diacritics_preserved": true
# }

Built for northern Nigerian businesses

Any business that serves Hausa-speaking customers can benefit — but these verticals see the highest call volumes and the biggest gains from Hausa AI.

💊 Pharmacies (Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto)

Patients call to check stock, ask about dosages, and confirm operating hours — all in Hausa. Maraba handles these queries instantly, notes reservations, and flags urgent calls. Your pharmacist stays focused on dispensing.

🏥 Clinics and hospitals (northern region)

Appointment booking and doctor availability queries in Hausa account for the majority of calls in northern Nigerian clinics. Maraba answers at 6am when the clinic opens, and at 11pm when it doesn't.

🛒 Retail shops and markets

Traders in Kantin Kwari, Wambai, and Dawanau market receive calls asking for prices, bulk availability, and delivery terms. Maraba quotes prices from your configured catalogue and notes bulk enquiries for follow-up.

🚛 Logistics and transport (Abuja–Kano corridor)

Freight companies running the Abuja–Kano, Kano–Maiduguri, and Kano–Sokoto routes receive Hausa queries about cargo tracking, delivery ETAs, and pricing. Maraba handles these without holding up your dispatcher.

Where Maraba serves Hausa-speaking businesses

Maraba numbers run on Africa's Talking — available on all major Nigerian networks across every northern state.

Kano Kaduna Maiduguri Sokoto Abuja (FCT) Zaria Katsina Minna Gusau Dutse Birnin Kebbi Yola

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from northern Nigerian business owners about Maraba's Hausa AI.

Does Maraba support Hausa diacritics like ƙ, ɗ, and ɓ?

Yes — fully. Maraba never lowercases Hausa text (which would destroy ƙ → k, ɗ → d distinctions). All transcripts and TTS inputs preserve diacritics exactly. This is a deliberate engineering decision, not an accident.

Can Maraba handle callers who mix Hausa and English?

Yes — this is core functionality, not a nice-to-have. Hausa–English code-switching is extremely common in northern Nigerian business conversations. Maraba tracks both languages simultaneously and responds naturally in whichever the caller uses at each moment.

Which Hausa dialects does Maraba understand?

Maraba is trained primarily on Kano Hausa — the prestige standard understood across all Hausa-speaking states. The model also handles common vocabulary and pronunciation variations from Kaduna, Sokoto, Maiduguri, and Abuja.

Can I use Maraba for a pharmacy serving Hausa-speaking patients?

Yes — pharmacies are one of our top use cases in northern Nigeria. Maraba handles stock queries, opening hours, medication name recognition, and callback logging entirely in Hausa. Patient data is stored securely under your account only.

Is there a Hausa STT API for developers?

Yes. The Maraba REST API at /api/v1/ accepts audio uploads with a language_hint of "ha" for Hausa. Authentication uses X-API-Key header only. Full documentation is available in the developer portal at maraba.ai/developer/.

Hausa AI that speaks
like a true Aboki.

What Maraba's Hausa AI actually does

Hausa diacritics — handled correctly

How a real Hausa call sounds

Integrate Hausa STT via API

Built for northern Nigerian businesses

Where Maraba serves Hausa-speaking businesses

Frequently asked questions

Ku fara amfani da Maraba yau.
Start using Maraba today.

Hausa AI that speakslike a true Aboki.

What Maraba's Hausa AI actually does

Hausa diacritics — handled correctly

How a real Hausa call sounds

Integrate Hausa STT via API

Built for northern Nigerian businesses

Where Maraba serves Hausa-speaking businesses

Frequently asked questions

Ku fara amfani da Maraba yau.Start using Maraba today.

Hausa AI that speaks
like a true Aboki.

Ku fara amfani da Maraba yau.
Start using Maraba today.