Two new voices for reading Luxembourgish
In three months, Mia and Mil have learnt a great deal. They now have a good command of Luxembourgish and are familiar with the most common screen readers. Here's how to get started with them.
Monday, March 30, 2026
One female voice, one male voice, both equally adept at reading out texts written in Luxembourgish, available on computers and smartphones: this is a first that the SIP invites you to try out today.
The result of nearly a year's work, Mia and Mil have been through their paces: first a stint at the Zenter fir d'Lëtzebuerger Sprooch, where they rapidly learnt 70,000 Luxembourgish words; then some rigorous coaching at LouderPages, a publisher with expertise in speech synthesis - LouderPages has produced several speech synthesis systems for languages as diverse as Nepali, Turkmen and Tswana; and finally, a validation of their skills by testers at the Centre for the Development of Visual Skills (CDV). Throughout this time, we at the Information and Press Service (SIP) played the role of parents.
Mil and Mia introduce themselves
Transcript
Moien, mäin Numm ass Mil.
Ech schwätzen Lëtzebuergesch.
Je parle aussi français.
Ich kann auch ein bisschen Deutsch.
I am the English voice, I am here to assist Mil for the English language.
Mia
Hallo, ech sinn d'Mia, ech sinn déi zweet Lëtzebuerger Stëmm vum "Screen Reader LB" Projet.
In January, Mia and Mil were introduced to the wider world: anyone could install the voices and suggest improvements. This feedback from early adopters was monitored right through to the end of the beta testing phase, which concluded today.
Getting as far away from imperfection as possible
We were keen to offer you two voices that were as close to perfect as possible. However, there were many challenges. In addition to the specificities of the Luxembourgish language, we also had to ensure the ability to correctly pronounce passages in French, English or German within the same text. To this end, additional dictionaries were developed.
Every detail matters: how do you pronounce a date correctly? An emoji? An acronym? We are used to hearing 'C-G-DIS'. These voices must therefore be guided through specific dictionaries, which will teach them to pronounce 'SIGI', 'TICE' or 'ANLux' just as we do in Luxembourg. The same applies to first names - Paulette, Emil, João... - and certain surnames, from Bertemes to Zendaya, via Grethen and Weydert.
Reading an article on music theory reform
Transcript
De Museksunterecht zu Lëtzebuerg gëtt moderniséiert: Reform vum Solfège ab 2026
Heading level one
Communiqué
Created on
19/01/2026
19 January 2026
Aktualiséiert den 20/01/2026
20/01/2026
De Museksunterrecht ass e wichtege Pilier vum lëtzebuergeschen Educatiounssystem. Fir d'Inhalter an d'pedagogesch Approchen ze moderniséieren an un déi aktuell Entwécklungen unzepassen, gëtt eng Reform vum Museksunterrecht op de Wee bruecht, mat engem besonnesche Fokus op d'Branche vun der Formation musicale (FM), allgemeng Solfège genannt. Déi grouss Linne vun dëser Reform goufen den 19. Januar 2026 bei enger Pressekonferenz vum Minister fir Educatioun, Kanner a Jugend, Claude Meisch, an der Micky Thein, Koordinatorin vum Aarbechtsgrupp, dee fir d'Reform vum Solfège zoustänneg ass, presentéiert.
Today, these two voices are responsive, can reproduce text at high speed and operate without ever needing to communicate with a remote server: in this way, immediacy and confidentiality are both ensured.
In addition to the screen reader function, these voices can also be used to read text aloud (the 'Read Aloud' function) on macOS, using the system's 'Speak Selection' accessibility feature, and on Windows with third-party tools such as Balabolka or the 'Read Aloud' browser extension.
Give them a listen
Mia and Mil are available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Guides have been written for each platform, in four languages. We recommend that you read them before installing RHVoice and the Luxembourgish voices on your phone, tablet, or computer.
For Windows
The voices can interface with NVDA and JAWS screen readers.
- Windows Guide in Luxembourgish
- Windows Guide in French
- Windows Guide in English
- Windows Guide in German
For macOS and iOS
The voices interface with VoiceOver.
For Android
Voices interface with TalkBack.
- Android Guide in Luxembourgish
- Android Guide in French
- Android Guide in English
- Android Guide in German
Your contributions are welcome!
Finally, if you'd like to contribute to the project, you have two options:
- send us examples of pronunciation to be improved, providing the source of the document and the conditions of use (computer or mobile device, screen reader, selected voice);
- get involved as a developer in the project, which is published entirely as Open source on GitHub:
Fancy taking part in one of these projects? We invite you to contact the SIP, and we'll discuss your project.
We would like to thank the Ministry for Digitalisation, which, as part of the Tech-in-Gov 2025 call for projects, selected our proposal: it is primarily thanks to this funding that Mia and Mil became, a year later, a concrete reality - one that will require ongoing support: perfecting a voice is a task that never ends.