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Questions tagged [soundex]

Soundex is an phonetic algorithm for indexing names based on their pronunciation in spoken English.

Soundex is a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound, as pronounced in English. The goal is for homophones to be encoded to the same representation so that they can be matched despite minor differences in spelling.

Soundex is the most widely known of all phonetic algorithms mainly because it is a standard feature of popular database software (such as MySQL, MS SQL Server and Oracle) and some programming languages (such as PHP).

Soundex was developed by Robert C. Russell and Margaret K. Odell and patented in 1918 and 1922

Articles

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Phonetic search for Indian languages

I want to compare strings phonetically in my android app. But the special case here is, I want to compare Indian language words written in English. For example, I want to check if "Edhu" "Adhu" "Yethu" are phonetically equal, they all mean the same…
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How to make an International Soundex?

E.g. the Soundex algorithm is optimized for English. Is there a more universal algorithm that would apply across large families of languages?
torial
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Levenshtein distance based methods Vs Soundex

As per this comment in a related thread, I'd like to know why Levenshtein distance based methods are better than Soundex.
ColinYounger
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Finding similar sounding text in VBA

My manager tells me that there is a way to evaluate names that are spelled differently but sound similar in the way they are pronounced. Ideally, we want to be able to evaluate a user-entered search name and return exact matches as well as "similar…
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Enabling soundex/metaphone for non-English characters

I've been studying soundex, metaphone and other string search techniques the past few days, and in my understanding both algorithms work well in handling non-English words transliterated to English. However the requirement that I have would be for…
Jon Limjap
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Algorithm using soundex() or metaphone() to create Mad Gab style phrases

I'm attempting to create an algorithm that will suggest Mad Gab style phrases. The input is a set of phrases. I also have a set of keywords that I'd like to use when possible. Currently, my solution is simply brute force: loop over phrases…
Jason McCreary
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LINQ to SQL SOUNDEX - possible?

I have done a little bit of research on this and looked through a few articles both here on StackOverflow as well as some blog posts, but haven't found an exact answer. I also read that it is possible to do it using the 4.0 framework, but have yet…
Steve Hayes
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metaphone versus soundex versus NYSIIS

I'm trying to come up with an implicit spell checker that will use the mappings of input words to some kind of more general phonetic representation to account for typos that might occur, basically for a search bar that will automatically correct…
Slater Victoroff
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Suggestions for Querying Database for Names

I have an Oracle database that, like many, has a table containing biographical information. On which, I would like to search by name in a "natural" way. The table has forename and surname fields and, currently, I am using something like this: select…
Xophmeister
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Does MongoDB support soundex or fuzzy matching?

Does MongoDB support soundex or fuzzy matching? I want to spot dupes of basic contact name and address fields. I'm using the official C# driver. Thanks
Journeyman
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How does the Soundex function work in SQL Server?

Here's an example of Soundex code in SQL: SELECT SOUNDEX('Smith'), SOUNDEX('Smythe'); ----- ----- S530 S530 How does 'Smith' become S530? In this example, the first digit is S because that's the first character in the input expression, but how…
Naveen Suman
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compare short strings in different languages for similar sound - is Soundex the answer?

How could i get a sound similarity "rating" for a string written in one language with another string in another language: i.e an algorithm that will identify that "David Letterman" and "דוד לטרמן" are strings that sound alike. -Oh, yes, btw the…
RabinDev
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Has Soundex been improved?

Soundex seems to be implemented in some DBMS's, but have there been any algorithmic improvements that are definitively better than the current implementation of Soundex?
Tom Gullen
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Implement smart search / Fuzzy string comparison

I have a web page on an ASP.NET MVC application where customers search for suppliers. The suppliers capture their own details on the website. The client wants a "smart search" feature, where they could search for suppliers and find them even if the…
Carel
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Sort By Soundex (or similar) `Closeness`

Is there any way to have MySQL order results by how close they 'sound' to a search term? I'm trying to order fields that contain user input of city names. Variations and misspellings exist, and I'd like to show the 'closest' matches at the top. I…
Tim Lytle
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