Method for Constructing Pronunciation Dictionaries

A method for constructing a pronunciation dictionary from a set of unaligned entries, wherein an unaligned entry includes a set of words and a set of pronunciations corresponding to the set of words, comprising the steps of:

• transforming iteratively each unaligned entry into an aligned entry, wherein each word in the aligned entry is aligned with a subset of pronunciations from the set of pronunciations;
• storing each aligned entry in an internal dictionary;
• and
• outputting the internal dictionary as the pronunciation dictionary, wherein the steps of the method are performed by a processor.

A system for constructing a pronunciation dictionary by transforming an unaligned entry to an aligned entry, wherein the unaligned entry and the aligned entry include a set of words and a set of pronunciations corresponding to the set of words, and wherein each word in the aligned entry is aligned with a subset of pronunciations from the set of pronunciations, comprising:

• pronunciation prediction sub-module for determining, for each word in the set of words, a pronunciation prediction, such that there is one-to-one correspondence between the word and the pronunciation prediction;
• dynamic programming sub-module for mapping each pronunciation prediction to the subset of pronunciations to produce a predictions-pronunciation map having each pronunciation prediction aligned with the subset of pronunciations;
• and
• a processor configured for determining the aligned entry based on the predictions-pronunciation map using the one-to-one correspondence between the word and the pronunciation prediction.