This tutorial explains how to install simon under Ubuntu, and how to import Ralf’s Portuguese dictionary.
1. Download simon.
2. Double-click on simon-0.2-Linux_i386.deb:
3. Press Install Package:
4. Enter the password that you had chosen during your Ubuntu installation:
Press the OK button.
5. The installation has been finished. The package simon-0.2-Linux_i386.deb has been installed:
Press the Close button.
6. Select Applications > Universal Access > simon:
7. Take a look at the simon main window:
Press the Wordlist button.
8. The Wordlist tab has opened:
Press the Import Dictionary button.
9. You have to select the type of the dictionary:
Choose PLS Lexicon, then press the Next button.
Note for simon development team: it would be nice if simon now offered a list of the 27 PLS dictionaries that are available.
10. You can now import one of my 27 PLS dictionaries. In the sidebar of testing simon, you can find a PLS dictionary that you can import:
Right-click on Ralf’s Portuguese dictionary, then Save Link As....
11. The dictionary with the name portuguese-dictionary.xml.bz2 will be saved:
It will be saved in the Downloads folder. Press the Save button.
12. It is time to import Ralf's Portuguese dictionary that you have just downloaded:
Please press the File button to point simon to the downloaded PLS dictionary.
13. Select the Downloads folder:
14. Select portuguese-dictionary.xml.bz2:
On my computer, I didn’t have to press the OK button.
15. simon displays the path to the PLS dictionary:
Note for simon development team: it is pretty complicated to first download, and then import the dictionary. It would be nice if the wizard offered automatic download directly from the internet.
My guess is: the average user begins to lose interest in simon at this point of the installation because he already has invested about 20 minutes of his precious time. It is getting annoying. Don’t annoy the user! Offer automatic PLS dictionary import directly from the internet.
The automatic BOMP import is a great thing. But not everybody is a native German speaker. At the moment, I am offering 27 different languages. An automatic import would make simon much more interesting for a lot of people. E.g. Portuguese is spoken by 200 million native speakers. Recently, someone showed interest in Portuguese at Voxforge. You can imagine that almost all people don’t have a clue where to start, and what is necessary. Helping people from a lot of different countries would be so easy by adding an automatic import function to the wizard.
Press the Next button.
16. simon is now processing the lexicon:
What does that mean? It means that simon converts the dictionary from PLS format into HTK format. This process works fine for Ralf's German dictionary. The process is not yet optimized for the other PLS dictionaries. If you are a native speaker of Portuguese (European), you can edit Ralf's Portuguese dictionary with a simple text editor.
17. Ralf's Portuguese dictionary has been imported:
Press the Finish button.
18. The dictionary is now available:
a. Select Include unused words from the shadow lexicon.
b. Use the scroll bar to get an impression of the Portuguese dictionary.
c. First column: word. Second column: corresponding pronunciation.
19. Let’s finish here. Now you know how to install simon under Ubuntu, and how to import Ralf's Portuguese dictionary into simon.
There are more steps necessary to make it work:
- install HTK;
- record a few training samples;
- define a grammar;
- start ksimond (PDF).
Take a look into the simon handbook to find out more about simon.
Tags: 32-bit, Karmic Koala, PLS, Portuguese