Phonetic spell checker
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for performing phonetic spell checking, the apparatus comprising:
a dictionary table including a plurality of entries, each entry including an orthography and an associated pronunciation, and each pronunciation including one or more phonemes;
a weightings table including a plurality of entries, each entry including a cluster which includes one or more letters, a cluster pronunciation including one or more phonemes, and a weighting for the pronunciation of the cluster; and
at least one processor operable to divide a received word into a plurality of clusters, each cluster including one or more pronunciations and each pronunciation including one or more phonemes, to rank the pronunciations of the word according to the associated weightings of the cluster pronunciations in the weightings table, and to search the dictionary table for an orthography whose associated pronunciation matches at least the most heavily weighted pronunciation.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a source of the received word is a dictionary.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a source of the received word is a book.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the weightings table includes a respective entry for a cluster pronunciation for an initial position, a medical position and a final position in a word.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to rank the pronunciation of the word according to position of each cluster.
6. Apparatus for generating a phonetic spell checker, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor operable to form a weightings table in conjunction with a dictionary table, the weightings table including a plurality of entries such that each entry includes a cluster which includes one or more letters, a cluster pronunciation including one or more phonemes, and a weighting for the pronunciation of the cluster, the dictionary table including a plurality of entries such that each entry includes an orthography and an associated pronunciation including one or more phonemes;
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