Method for compressing dictionary data

An electronic device configured to convert a text string input into a sequence of phoneme units, comprising:

• means for storing a pre-processed pronunciation dictionary comprising entries, the entries comprising a first set of units comprising character units and a second set of units comprising phoneme units, wherein the units of the first set and the units of the second set are aligned and interleaved by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit;
• means for finding a matching entry for said text string input from said pre-processed pronunciation dictionary using said first set of units of the entry from predetermined locations;
• means for selecting from said matching entry units of said second set of units from predetermined locations and concatenating them into a sequence of phoneme units;
• and
• means for removing empty spaces from said sequence of phoneme units.

An electronic device configured to convert a speech information input into a sequence of character units, comprising:

• means for storing a pre-processed pronunciation dictionary comprising entries, the entries comprising a first set of units comprising character units and a second set of units comprising phoneme units, wherein the units of the first set and the units of the second set are aligned and interleaved by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit;
• means for storing or creating pronunciation models of each entry's phonemic representation;
• means for finding a matching entry for said speech information by comparing said speech information to said pronunciation models and selecting the most corresponding entry;
• means for selecting from said matching entry units of said first set of units from predetermined locations and concatenating them into a sequence of character units;
• and
• means for removing empty spaces from said sequence of character units.

A system comprising a first electronic device and a second electronic device arranged in a communication connection with each other, the system being configured to convert a text string input into a sequence of phoneme units, wherein:

• said first electronic device comprises means for storing a pre-processed pronunciation dictionary comprising entries wherein the entries are aligned and interleaved by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit, the entries comprising a first set of units comprising character units and a second set of units comprising phoneme units;
• said first electronic device comprises means for finding a matching entry for said text string input from said pre-processed pronunciation dictionary using said first set of units of the entry;
• said first electronic device comprises means for transmitting said matching entry to the second electronic device;
• said second electronic device comprises means for receiving said matching entry from the first electronic device;
• said second electronic device comprises means for selecting from said matching entry units of said second set of units and concatenating them into a sequence of phoneme units;
• and
• said second electronic device comprises means for removing empty spaces from said sequence of phoneme units.

A computer program product loadable into the memory of a data processing device, comprising a code which is executable in the data processing device causing the data processing device to:

• retrieve from the memory a pronunciation dictionary comprising at least one entry, the entry comprising a sequence of character units and a sequence of phoneme units;
• align said sequence of character units and said sequence of phoneme units using a statistical algorithm;
• and
• interleave said aligned sequence of character units and said aligned sequence of phoneme units by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit.

A computer program product loadable into the memory of an electronic device, comprising a code which is executable in the electronic device causing the electronic device to:

• retrieve from the memory a pre-processed pronunciation dictionary comprising entries, the entries comprising a first set of units comprising character units and a second set of units comprising phoneme units, wherein the first set of the units and the second set of units are aligned and interleaved by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit;
• find a matching entry from said pre-processed pronunciation dictionary for a text string input using said first set of units of the entry from the predetermined locations and ignoring empty spaces;
• select from said matching entry the units of said second set of units from the predetermined locations and concatenating them into a sequence of phoneme units;
• and
• remove empty spaces from said sequence of phoneme units.

A computer program product loadable into the memory of an electronic device, comprising a code which is executable in the electronic device causing the electronic device to:

• retrieve from the memory a pre-processed pronunciation dictionary comprising entries, the entries comprising a first set of units comprising character units and a second set of units comprising phoneme units, wherein the first set of the units and the second set of units are aligned and interleaved by inserting each phoneme unit at a predetermined location relative to the corresponding character unit;
• store or create pronunciation models of each entry's phonemic representation;
• find a matching entry for said speech information by comparing said speech information to said pronunciation models and selecting the most corresponding entry;
• select from said matching entry the units of said first set of units from the predetermined locations and concatenating them into a sequence of character units;
• and
• remove empty spaces from said sequence of character units.