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Alternative
to Soundex
Metaphone
Metaphone is a most popular alternative to
Soundex. It was described by Lawrence Philips which he published in the
December, 1990 issue of "Computer language" magazine. Metaphone is
advanced version of Soundex which allows to avoid the gross analysis of
words. Metaphone works more exactly than Soundex and is more sensitive
for changes in the sequence of the letters and for such combinations as
for example "th".
It is based on a method that reduces the words to 16 consonants. The
precision is preserved and the variable areas are greatly reduced.
The basic rules:
The 16 consonants: B X S K J T F H L M N P R 0 W Y
„th“ = 0
Exceptions:
Beginning of word: "ae-", "gn", "kn-", "pn-", "wr-" ----> drop
first letter
"x"
----> change to "s"
"wh-"
----> change to "w"
|
|
Transformation
----> |
|
B
|
B, unless at the
end of word after "m" |
|
C
|
X (sh), if "-cia-" or "-ch-" |
| S if "-ci-", "-ce-", or "-cy-" |
| SILENT if "-sci-", "-sce-", or "-scy-" |
| otherwise, including in "-sch-" |
|
D
|
J if in "-dge-",
"-dgy-", or "-dgi-" |
| T otherwise |
|
F
|
F |
|
G
|
SILENT if in
"-gh-" and not at end or before a vowel
in "-gn" or "-gned"
in "-dge-" |
| J if before "i",
or "e", or "y" if not double "gg" |
| K otherwise |
|
H
|
SILENT if after vowel and no vowel follows
or after "-ch-", "-sh-", "-ph-", "-th-", "-gh-" |
| H otherwise |
|
J
|
J |
|
K
|
SILENT if after "c" |
| K otherwise |
|
L
|
L |
|
M
|
M |
|
N
|
N |
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P
|
F if before "h" |
| P otherwise |
|
Q
|
K |
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R
|
R |
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S
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X (sh) if before
"h" or in "-sio-" or "-sia-" |
| S otherwise |
|
T
|
X (sh) if "-tia-" or "-tio-" |
| 0 (th) if before "h" |
| silent if in "-tch-" |
| T otherwise |
|
V
|
F |
|
W
|
SILENT if not followed by a vowel |
| W if followed by a vowel |
|
X
|
KS |
|
Y
|
SILENT if not followed by a vowel |
| Y if followed by a vowel |
|
Z
|
S |
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Metaphone
Double
Metaphone
Caverphone
Q-gram
NYSIIS
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