Metaphone

Common errors

• SyntaxError: invalid syntax (on `next = self.next_chars.pop(0)`)

  cause The `metaphone` library was written for Python 2, where `next` was not a reserved keyword. In Python 3, `next` is a built-in function, leading to a `SyntaxError` when a method or variable is named `next`.
  fix This issue requires modifying the library's source code to rename the `next` method (e.g., to `_next_char`). Alternatively, use a Python 3 compatible fork or a different library that supports Metaphone algorithms on Python 3.

• AttributeError: 'SomeClass' object has no attribute 'next'

  cause Similar to the `SyntaxError`, this typically arises in Python 3 environments when code attempts to call a method named `next` within the `metaphone` library, which conflicts with Python 3's built-in `next()` function and is likely not properly defined due to the `SyntaxError` in the original source.
  fix As above, this requires a modification of the library's source code to rename the conflicting `next` method or usage of a Python 3 compatible alternative library. For example, changing `self.next` to `self._next` in the original library's `metaphone.py` file could resolve this.

Warnings

• breaking The `metaphone` library (version 0.6 and earlier) contains Python 2 specific syntax, particularly the use of `self.next` as a method name, which is a reserved keyword in Python 3. This will cause `SyntaxError` or `AttributeError` when run directly in Python 3 environments.
  Fix: Users are advised to use a Python 3 compatible fork or implement a workaround by renaming the `next` method in the source code if direct use of this specific package is required. Several alternative, actively maintained libraries (e.g., `phonetics`, `abydos`) provide Metaphone and Double Metaphone algorithms with Python 3 support.
• gotcha The Metaphone algorithm itself (and by extension, this library's implementation) is primarily designed for English pronunciation. While Double Metaphone attempts to account for other language irregularities, its accuracy may vary significantly for non-English words or names, compared to language-specific phonetic algorithms or more advanced systems like Metaphone 3 (which is commercial).
  Fix: For highly accurate phonetic matching across diverse languages, consider specialized phonetic libraries or commercial alternatives like Metaphone 3 if your use case demands it. For this library, be aware of its English-centric design.

Install

• pip install metaphone PyPI

Imports

• doublemetaphone

  from metaphone import doublemetaphone

• metaphone

  from metaphone import metaphone

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to import and use both the `doublemetaphone` and `metaphone` functions to generate phonetic codes for words. Double Metaphone returns a tuple of two codes (primary and secondary), while Metaphone returns a single code.

from metaphone import doublemetaphone

word = "architect"
primary_code, secondary_code = doublemetaphone(word)
print(f"Original word: {word}")
print(f"Double Metaphone codes: Primary='{primary_code}', Secondary='{secondary_code}'")

word_two = "Schmidt"
primary_code_two, secondary_code_two = doublemetaphone(word_two)
print(f"Original word: {word_two}")
print(f"Double Metaphone codes: Primary='{primary_code_two}', Secondary='{secondary_code_two}'")

from metaphone import metaphone
word_three = "example"
metaphone_code = metaphone(word_three)
print(f"Original word: {word_three}")
print(f"Metaphone code: '{metaphone_code}'")