abydos.phones package

abydos.phones.

The phones module implements phonetic feature coding, decoding, and comparison functions. It has three functions:

  • ipa_to_features() takes a string of IPA symbols and returns list of integers that represent the phonetic features bundled in the phone that the symbols represents.
  • get_feature() takes a list of feature bundles produced by ipa_to_features() and a feature name and returns a list representing whether that feature is present in each component of the list.
  • cmp_features() takes two phonetic feature bundles, such as the components of the lists returned by ipa_to_features(), and returns a measure of their similarity.

An example using these functions on two different pronunciations of the word 'international':

>>> int1 = 'ɪntənæʃənəɫ'
>>> int2 = 'ɪnɾənæʃɨnəɫ'
>>> feat1 = ipa_to_features(int1)
>>> feat1
[1826957413067434410,
 2711173160463936106,
 2783230754502126250,
 1828083331160779178,
 2711173160463936106,
 1826957425885227434,
 2783231556184615322,
 1828083331160779178,
 2711173160463936106,
 1828083331160779178,
 2693158721554917798]
>>> feat2 = ipa_to_features(int2)
>>> feat2
[1826957413067434410,
 2711173160463936106,
 2711173160463935914,
 1828083331160779178,
 2711173160463936106,
 1826957425885227434,
 2783231556184615322,
 1826957414069873066,
 2711173160463936106,
 1828083331160779178,
 2693158721554917798]
>>> get_feature(feat1, 'consonantal')
[-1, 1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1]
>>> get_feature(feat1, 'nasal')
[-1, 1, -1, -1, 1, -1, -1, -1, 1, -1, -1]
>>> [cmp_features(f1, f2) for f1, f2 in zip(feat1, feat2)]
[1.0,
 1.0,
 0.9032258064516129,
 1.0,
 1.0,
 1.0,
 1.0,
 0.9193548387096774,
 1.0,
 1.0,
 1.0]
>>> sum(cmp_features(f1, f2) for f1, f2 in zip(feat1, feat2))/len(feat1)
0.9838709677419355
abydos.phones.ipa_to_features(ipa)[source]

Convert IPA to features.

This translates an IPA string of one or more phones to a list of ints representing the features of the string.

Parameters:ipa (str) -- The IPA representation of a phone or series of phones
Returns:A representation of the features of the input string
Return type:list of ints

Examples

>>> ipa_to_features('mut')
[2709662981243185770, 1825831513894594986, 2783230754502126250]
>>> ipa_to_features('fon')
[2781702983095331242, 1825831531074464170, 2711173160463936106]
>>> ipa_to_features('telz')
[2783230754502126250, 1826957430176000426, 2693158761954453926,
2783230754501863834]
abydos.phones.get_feature(vector, feature)[source]

Get a feature vector.

This returns a list of ints, equal in length to the vector input,
representing presence/absence/neutrality with respect to a particular phonetic feature.
Parameters:
  • vector (list) -- A tuple or list of ints representing the phonetic features of a phone or series of phones (such as is returned by the ipa_to_features function)
  • feature (str) --

    A feature name from the set:

    • consonantal
    • sonorant
    • syllabic
    • labial
    • round
    • coronal
    • anterior
    • distributed
    • dorsal
    • high
    • low
    • back
    • tense
    • pharyngeal
    • ATR
    • voice
    • spread_glottis
    • constricted_glottis
    • continuant
    • strident
    • lateral
    • delayed_release
    • nasal
Returns:

A list indicating presence/absence/neutrality with respect to the feature
Return type:

list of ints
Raises:

AttributeError -- feature must be one of ...

Examples

>>> tails = ipa_to_features('telz')
>>> get_feature(tails, 'consonantal')
[1, -1, 1, 1]
>>> get_feature(tails, 'sonorant')
[-1, 1, 1, -1]
>>> get_feature(tails, 'nasal')
[-1, -1, -1, -1]
>>> get_feature(tails, 'coronal')
[1, -1, 1, 1]
abydos.phones.cmp_features(feat1, feat2)[source]

Compare features.

This returns a number in the range [0, 1] representing a comparison of two feature bundles.

If one of the bundles is negative, -1 is returned (for unknown values)

If the bundles are identical, 1 is returned.

If they are inverses of one another, 0 is returned.

Otherwise, a float representing their similarity is returned.

Parameters:
  • feat1 (int) -- A feature bundle
  • feat2 (int) -- A feature bundle
Returns:

A comparison of the feature bundles
Return type:

float

Examples

>>> cmp_features(ipa_to_features('l')[0], ipa_to_features('l')[0])
1.0
>>> cmp_features(ipa_to_features('l')[0], ipa_to_features('n')[0])
0.8709677419354839
>>> cmp_features(ipa_to_features('l')[0], ipa_to_features('z')[0])
0.8709677419354839
>>> cmp_features(ipa_to_features('l')[0], ipa_to_features('i')[0])
0.564516129032258