Request: Belgian Dutch (nl-BE) support for MAI-Voice-2 and MAI-Voice-2-Flash

Dirk Delbaere 1 Reputation point
2026-08-04T09:13:59.8933333+00:00

Azure Speech already recognises Belgian Dutch as a separate locale and currently provides "nl-BE-DenaNeural" and "nl-BE-ArnaudNeural". However, the new MAI generation is currently available for Dutch through "nl-NL" voices.

For many applications this difference may appear relatively small, but it becomes important in accessibility applications.

We use Azure Speech in Praatplaat (praatplaat.be), an accessible information platform for people with intellectual disabilities in Belgium. Simple information is presented visually and read aloud. Some users cannot read, or have limited reading abilities, so synthetic speech is not merely an additional feature: it is one of the primary interfaces through which they receive information. For this target group, predictable and familiar pronunciation, rhythm and intonation are important for comprehension.

The MAI-Voice-2 technology is very interesting because of its improved naturalness, prosody and contextual speech generation. However, moving from an "nl-BE" Neural voice to an "nl-NL" MAI voice also means moving away from the language variety our Belgian users hear in daily life.

This creates a situation in which Belgian Dutch users must choose between:

  • an existing Belgian Dutch voice using the previous generation of TTS technology;
  • or the newer MAI technology using Netherlands Dutch.

I therefore suggest adding at least one female and one male "nl-BE" voice for MAI-Voice-2, and preferably also for MAI-Voice-2-Flash.

This is not only a request for a different accent. For users with cognitive and communication disabilities, localisation can directly affect speech comprehension and therefore digital accessibility.

We are willing to provide practical feedback from users with intellectual disabilities if this would be useful to the Speech team.

Azure Speech in Foundry Tools
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  1. SRILAKSHMI C 19,730 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-04T16:21:37.8+00:00

    Hello @Dirk Delbaere

    Thank you for Reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

    We appreciate the context you've provided regarding Praatplaat and how synthetic speech serves as a primary accessibility interface for users with intellectual disabilities. Your explanation of why Belgian Dutch (nl-BE) voices are important not only from an accent perspective but also for speech comprehension, familiarity, and digital accessibility is extremely valuable.

    After reviewing the current Azure AI Speech capabilities and documentation, we can confirm the following:

    Belgian Dutch (nl-BE) is currently supported with the following standard Neural voices:

    • nl-BE-DenaNeural (Female)
    • nl-BE-ArnaudNeural (Male)

    The newer MAI voice generation is currently available for Dutch (Netherlands) (nl-NL), including:

    • nl-NL-Fleur – MAI-Voice-2-Flash (Female)
    • nl-NL-Sander – MAI-Voice-2
    • nl-NL-Sander – MAI-Voice-2-Flash (Male)

    Based on the published voice support documentation, MAI-Voice-2 and MAI-Voice-2-Flash are not currently available for the Belgian Dutch (nl-BE) locale. Therefore, your observation is correct: Belgian Dutch users currently need to choose between the existing nl-BE Neural voices (previous-generation TTS) and the newer MAI voices, which are currently available only for nl-NL.

    At this time, we are not aware of any publicly announced plans or timeline for adding nl-BE support to the MAI voice family.

    Your request to introduce at least one female and one male nl-BE MAI-Voice-2 voice and preferably MAI-Voice-2-Flash as well is a valid feature request. The accessibility considerations you've described provide important real-world context, particularly for users with intellectual disabilities who benefit from familiar pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.

    As an alternative, the current Azure AI Speech documentation describes Custom Neural Voice, which allows organizations to create customized voices. However, this capability:

    • Requires an application and approval process.
    • Requires training data in the target language.
    • Is available only in selected Azure regions.
    • Is intended for creating custom voices rather than adding new built-in locale voices.

    Therefore, it is not a direct replacement for native nl-BE MAI voices.

    Since your request is for a new product capability, we recommend submitting it through the official Azure Feedback portal so it can be reviewed by the Azure AI Speech Product Group:

    Azure Feedback: https://feedback.azure.com/

    When submitting your feedback, it would be beneficial to include the accessibility scenarios you've described, including:

    • The importance of Belgian Dutch pronunciation for users with intellectual disabilities.
    • The benefits of combining MAI-Voice-2's improved naturalness and prosody with nl-BE localization.
    • Your willingness to provide practical feedback from users with intellectual disabilities to help validate future improvements.

    While we cannot commit to future product enhancements or provide a timeline for implementation, feedback like yours plays an important role in helping the product team prioritize new capabilities.

    We appreciate you taking the time to share this valuable feedback and for your continued use of Azure AI Speech.

    Please refer this

    Language and voice support for Azure Speech

    MAI-Voice (preview)

    I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

    If this answers your query, please do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful.

    Thank you!

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