1. Import Schott’s German dictionary as active dictionary into simon.

2. Open the Grammar tab. Press the Import button.

3. Simon starts a wizard. Press the Next button.

4. Let’s try and check the option Also import unknown sentences. I don’t know whether this is a good decision. So let’s give it a try.
This is interesting: “words with more than one terminal” – is it now possible to use more than one entry for the role attribute? The current version of Schott’s German dictionary employs just one entry for each role attribute. The PLS standard allows more entries.
Please, download and extract Schott’s German utterances. This compressed folder 15000-german-utterances.zip contains a plain text file with more than 15000 utterances. I am the author of these utterances, and I have licensed them under the GPLv3. The utterances are designed to be used in conjunction with Schott’s German dictionary (former name: Ralf’s German dictionary). Every word that is included within Schott’s German utterances should be included in Schott’s German dictionary, too. I am 99% sure that this is the case, but I can’t guarantee it. If some words are missing in Schott’s German dictionary, please inform me, and I will include them within the next version of Schott’s German dictionary.
You can import my German utterances using simon’s Import Text option (copy & paste).

5. The import has been completed. There are a lot of lines that contain the Unknown terminal. Probably it would have been better if I wouldn’t have checked the option Also import unknown sentences in step 4.

6. Because simon didn’t react any more, I forced it to quit. I tried to start simon several times, but it wouldn’t start. Now there are several simon zombie statuses displayed. I was able to end these zombie / sleeping processes. But at the moment, it seems to be impossible to start simon again (a new zombie / sleeping status is beeing created if I try to start simon again).

Conclusion: I don’t recommend to check the option Also import unknown sentences. I tried the import Grammar function before without checking this option. Simon reacted normal, everything seemed to be fine.

1. About 70 occurences have to be replaced:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'alkohol')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'alkoːɔl','alkohoːl')"/></xsl:when>

2. Replace about 50 occurences:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'vertret')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'vɐtʀeːt','fɐtʀeːt')"/></xsl:when>

3. Replace 32 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'aluminium')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'aluːmiːniːʊm','alumiːni̯ʊm')"/></xsl:when>

4. Replace 386 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'aktion')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'aktsɪoːn','akt͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

5. Replace 38 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'günstig')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'gynstɪç','gʏnstɪç')"/></xsl:when>

6. Replace 28 occurrences:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'herrsch')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'hɛʀʀʃ','hɛʀʃ')"/></xsl:when>

7. Replace 29 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'hersteller')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'hɐstɛl','heːɐ̯ʃtɛl')"/></xsl:when>

8. Replace 132 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'erreg')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'ɛʀʀeːg','ɛʀeːg')"/></xsl:when>

9. Replace 41 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'stimmung')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'stɪmʊŋ','ʃtɪmʊŋ')"/></xsl:when>

10. Replace 24 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'zustand')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 't͡sʊstand','t͡suːʃtand')"/></xsl:when>

11. Replace 45 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'blume')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'blʊmə','bluːmə')"/></xsl:when>

12. Replace 45 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'vention')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'vɛntsɪoːn','vɛnt͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

13. Replace 32 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'kampagne')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'kampagnə','kampanjə')"/></xsl:when>

14. Replace 79 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'brüche')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'bʀyçə','bʀʏçə')"/></xsl:when>

15. Replace 81 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'tradition')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'tʀadiːtsɪoːn','tʀadit͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

16. Replace 499 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'funktion')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'fʊŋktsɪoːn','fʊŋkt͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

17. Replace 312 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'familie')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'famiːlɪə','famiːli̯ə')"/></xsl:when>

18. Replace 44 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'gürtel')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'gyʀtəl','gʏʀtəl')"/></xsl:when>

19. Replace 32 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'sorption')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'zɔʀptsɪoːn','zɔʀpt͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

20. Replace 121 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'duktion')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'dʊkt͡sɪoːn','dʊkt͡si̯oːn')"/></xsl:when>

21. Replace 102 matches:

<xsl:when test="contains(lower-case(../grapheme), 'potential')"><xsl:value-of select="replace($sierra, 'poːtɛnt͡siːaːl','potɛnt͡si̯aːl')"/></xsl:when>

You can see that a lot of <phoneme> elements have been improved.

Edit: Download the video German speech model ‘friedrich’ (40 min., 47 MB, WMV, link will become invalid soon)

Edit: These words are recognized in the video:

ARBEITSAUFNAHME Aachener Rachens Einsparens Aalen Racheschach RAF
Abarbeiten Barockzeit Abarbeitungszyklus Abartung Abbauvermgen
Abbauvertrag Abberufens Abberufungen Abbestellungen Abbiegevorgang
Abbiegevorgangs Abbiegevorgnge Abbiegevorgngen Abbindebehandlung
Abbindebereich Abbindebeschleuniger Abbindebeschleunigung Abbindedauer
Abbitte Abbindung Abbindezeit Abbindewasser Abbindeverhalten
Abblasedruckregler Beamtenrecht Einakter Abbuchung Abbuchungsauftrag
Abgrnden Abdampfenergie Abdampfhaube Abdampfkrmmer Abdampfleitung
Abdampfmenge Abdampfquerschnitt Abdampfverlust Abdampfvolumen
Abdampfverbindung Abdampfventil Abdampfturbine Abdankens Abdeckfolie
Server Abdeckhaube Abdeckkappe Abdeckklappe Abdeckprofil Abdeckrahmen
Abdeckring Abdeckschraube Abdeckung Abdeckungen Abdeckungsraten
Abdeckungsrate Abdeckziegel Abdichter Abdichtfuge Abdichtfugen
Abdichtgummi Abdichtmasse Abdichttopf Abdichtung Abdeckplatte Abdomen
Abdrosslung Abdrosslungen Abdruck Abdruckes Abdruckmasse Abdrucks
Abdrngen Barytlauge Abduktion Abduktor Abfrben Einspritzkhlung
Abenteuerbuch Aberdeenrind Abenteuerreise Abenteuerromanen
Abenteuerromans Abenteuerspielplatz Abenteuerspiel Abenteuersportarten
Abenteurertypen Server Abfahrtsbahnhof Abfahrtsgleis Abfahrtshafen
Abfahrtshang Abfahrtshocke Abfahrtslauf Abfahrtslufer Abfahrtsort
Abfahrtsplan Abfahrtsrennen Abfahrtsstellen Abfahrtsstrecke
Abfahrtsstrecken Abfahrtstafel Abfahrtszeit Abfallaufkommen
Abfallbehandlung Abfallbehlter Server Abfahrtsrennen Abfallendlagerung
Abfallentsorgung Abfallerzeuger Abfallgebinde Abfallgesetz
Abfallgraben Abfallgrube Abfallgruppe Abfallholz Abfallkalender
Abfallkasten Abfallklasse Abfallkurve Abfallkurven Abfertiger
Abfallpapier Abfallpapiers Abfallprodukt Abfallprodukte
Abfallprodukten Abfallprodukts Abfallrohr Abfallsack Abfallschacht
Abfallspannung Abfallstoffe Abfallstoffen Abfalltechnik
Abfallwirtschaft Abfallzeit Abfallzerkleinerer Abfangbahn
Abfangeinrichtung Abfangjagd Abfangjgern Abfangjgers Abfangventil
Abfangwasser Abfassens Abfassung Abfassungen Abfasung Abfederung
Abfertigens Abfertiger Abfertigung Abfertigungen Abfertigungsbeamter
Abfertigungsgebude Abfertigungsgebhr Abfertigungshalle
Abfertigungsschalter Abfertigungsschaltern Abfertigungsschalters
Abfertigungsstelle Abfertigungsstellen Abfertigungszeit Abfeuern
Abfiltrieren Abfindens Abfindungsvertrag Server Abfischung Abflachens
Abflachung Abflachungen Abflauen Abflugs Abfluganweisungen Abflugdatum
Abflughafen Abflugflughafen Abflugstrecke Abflugland Abflugpunkt
Abflugraster Abflugkurs Abflughalle Abflugs Abflugsektor Abflugsort
Abflugstrecke Abflugverfahren Abfluss Abflussarmatur Abflussdaten
Abflussdruck Abflusses Abflussflle Abflussgraben Abflusshahn
Abflusskanal Abflusskanals Abflusskanle Abflussleitung Abflussloch
Abflussmenge Abflussmessstelle Abflussmessung Abflussregler
Abflussreiniger Abflussrinne Abflussrohr Abflussrohre Abflussrohren
Abflussrohrs Abflussstelle Abflusstrichter Abflussventil
Abflussverhalten Abflussvermgen Abflusswert Abflutwasser Abflsse
Abflssen Abfolge Abfolgen Abformwerkzeug Abforsten Abforstens
Abforstung Abfrage Abfragekriterium Abfragemodus Abfragen
Abfragesprache Abfragesprachen Abfragestation Abfragesystem
Abfrageverfahren Abfunken Abflle Abgabe Abgabebereitschaft Abgabedruck
Abgabeleistung Abgabenbefreiung Abgabengesetz Abgabengesetze
Abgabengesetzen Abgabenneigung Abgabenordnung Abgabenquote
Abgabepflicht Abgabepreise Abgabepreisen Abgabepumpe Abgaberate
Abgaberaten Abgabesache Abgabesachen Abgabestation Abgabetag
Abgabetermin Abgabezug Abgang Abgangs Abgangsdatum Abgangsfeld
Abgangsflughafen Abgangsklemme Abgangskontrolle Abgangsort Abgangsrate
Abgangswelle Abgangszeit Abgangszeugnis Abgangszeugnisse
Abgangszeugnissen Abgangszeugnisses Abgas Abgasrckfhrung Abgasanalyse
Abgasanlage Abgasdruck Abgase Abgasen Abgases Abgasfilter Abgashaube
Abgaskamin Abgaskanal Abgaskatalysator Abgasklappe Abgaskomponente
Abgaskhler Abgasleitung Abgasmenge Abgasmessstrecke
Abgasnachbehandlung Abgasniveau Abgasnorm Abgasnormen Abgasreinigung
Abgasrohr Abgasrckfhrung Abgasrckfhrungsventil Abgasschlauch
Abgassicherungstemperatur Abgassonderuntersuchung Abgassystem
Abgastemperatur Abgasturbine Batterieladung Abgasturbolader
Abgasturbolufer Abgasverlust Abgaswerte Abgaswscher Abgelten Abgeltens
Abgeltung Abgeltungen Abgeltungssteuer Abgeneigtheit Abderite
Abdrckmutter Abdeckbleche Abgesang Abgeschiedenheit Abgeschlossenheit
Abgeschlossenheitsrelation Abgeschmacktheit Abgespanntheit Abglanz
Abgleichs Abgleichfehler Abgleichklemme Abgleichkondensator
Abgleichpunkt Abgleichregler Abgleichs Abgleichschalter
Abgleichwiderstand Abgott Abgotts Abgottschlange Abgrabung Abgrenzens
Abgrenzer Abgrenzung Abgrenzungen Abgrenzungsbank Abgrenzungsdatum
Abgrenzungskonto Abgrenzungskonzept Abgrenzungskriterium
Abgrenzungsproblem Abgrenzungsstreitigkeiten Abgrenzungssystem Abgriff
Radksten Abgriffspannung Abgriffspannungen Abgrund Abgrundes Abgrunds
Abgrusung Abgrnde Abgrnden Abguss Abgusses Abhaldung Abhaltens
Abhaltung Abgang Abhangs Abhebens Abhebezeit Abhebung Abhebungen
Abhilfe Abhilfemanahme Abhilfemanahmen Abhilfen Abholbereich Abholens
Abholgeschft Abholgromarkt Abholung Abholungen Abholzeit Abholzens
Abhorchen Abhnger Abflligkeit Abientlassungsfeiern
Abientlassungsfeiern Abisolieren Abisoliergert Abisolierlnge
Abisoliermesser Abisolierwerkzeug Abisolierzange Abjunktion
Abkantmaschine Abkantpresse Abkantung Abkapslung Abkapselungen
Abkapslung Abkehr Abkehrschein Abklatsch Abklingbehlter Abklingen
Abklingens Abklingfaktor Abklingkonstante Abklingrate Abklingverhalten
Abklingwrme Abklingzeit Abklingzeitkonstante Abklrens Abklrung
Abklrungen Abkocher Abkochern Abkochers Abkomme Abkoppelung Abkopplung
Abkopplungen Abkunft Abladeplatz Abladeplatzes Ablader Abladern
Abladers Abladestelle Ablagerung Ablagerungen Ablageort Ablagen
Ablageraum Ablageraumes Ablageraums Ablagerns Ablagerung Ablagerungen
Ablagesystem Ablasskanal Ablassleitung Server Ablassschraube Ablation
Ablassventil Ablauf Ablaufanweisung Ablaufbahn Ablaufblende
Ablaufdiagramm Ablaufdiagramme Ablaufdiagrammen Ablaufdiagramms
Ablaufen Ablaufes Ablauffolge Ablauffolgen Ablaufgitter Ablaufglied
Ablaufhahn Ablaufkette Ablaufleitung Abensberg Ablauforganisation
Ablaufphase Ablaufplan Ablaufplansymbol Ablaufplanung Ablaufprotokoll
Ablaufrechner Ablaufrinne Ablaufrohr Ablaufs Ablaufschlauch
Ablaufschritt Ablaufschrge Ablaufsprache Ablaufsteuerung
Ablaufsteuerungen Ablaufsteuerwerk Ablaufsteuerwerks Ablaufverfolger
Ablaufverfolgung Ablaufverfolgungsprogramm Ablaufverkehr
Ablaufverkehrs Ablaufwanne Ablaufzeit Ablaugekessel Ablaut Abfindungen
Ablaute Ablauten Ablauf Ableben Ablegens Ablegens Ablegers Ablegern
Ablegers Ablehnens Ablehnung Ablehnungen Ablehnungshinweis
Ablehnungsschreiben Ableistens Ableistung Ableistungen Ablsbarkeit
Abarbeitung Ableitbarkeitsfrage Ableitblech Ableitens Ableiter
Abblttern Ableiters Ableitkondensator Ableitstrom Abbltterung
Ableitungen Ableitungsfistel Ableitungskanal Ableitungskanals
Ableitungsmorphem Ableitungsregel Ableitungsregeln Ableitungsverhltnis
Abarbeiten Ablenkelektrode Ablenkempfindlichkeit Ablenkens
Ablenkmagnet Ablenkplatte Ablenkprisma Ablenkspule RAF Ablaufschritt
Ablenkungen Ablenkungsmanvern Ableseperiode Ablesung Ablesungen
Ablichtens Ablichtung Ablichtungen Ablieferns Ablieferung
Ablieferungen Eieruhren Abluftanlage Abluftfahne Abluftkamin
Abluftkanal Abluftklappe Abluftreinigung Abluftrohr Abluftventilator
Abluftffnung Ablngzange Ablsse Ablssen Abmachens Abmachung Abmachungen
Abmagerns Abmagerung Ablagerungen Abmagerungskuren Abmagerungspille
Abmahnens Abnahme Abmahnern Abmahners Abmahnkosten Abmahnwelle
Abmahnwellen Abmangel Abmarschs Abmehlen Abmeldefrist Abmelden
Abmeldens Abmeldeverfahren Abmeldung Abmeldungen Abmessen Abmessens
Abmessung Abmessungsverhltnis Abmilderns Abmilderung Abmilderungen
Abmischung Abmischungen Abmrsche Abmrschen Abnabelung Abraumbagger
Abraumbeseitigung Abraumhalde Abraumhalden Abrollwiderstand
Abrollwiderstandes Abrufauftrag Absatzerfahrungen Absatzes
Absatzfinanzierung Absatzvolumens Abtastfilterung Abtastgrenze
Abtastgrenzen Achtstundentagen Achttausender Achtundsechziger
Achtundsechzigerin Achtungen wahrenden Ballbesucher Baldachin Baldur
Balduin Balduins Baldur Baldurs Balearen Balgheim Balgheims
Bartschneider Balgs Balken Balkons Balkons Radtour Ballettschule
Balletttage Ballhupe Balljunge Balljungen Ballnchte Ballsaals
Ballsaales Ballsaals Ballsportarten Ballsportarten Ballsle Ballslen
Ballungsgebieten Ballungsrume Ballungsrumen Baunormung Barthaar
Bartagame Banalisieren Banalisierens Banalitten Bananenladung Banause
Banausen Banausentum Banausentums Bandage Bandagen Bandbrcke
Bandfilter Banditen Bandfhrung Bandkeil Bandkeramik Bandlaufregler
Bandlaufwerk Einakter Bandlten Bandlcke Bandmatrix Bandma Bandnudel
Bandschlupf Bandschlssel Bandschreiber Bedrouille Bandsge Bandwaage
Bandwiege Bandwurmsatz Bankangestellte Bangladeschs Bangladescher
Bankabbuchung Bankabrechnung Bankaktien Bankaktivitten Bankangestellte
Bankangestellten Bankangestellter Bankanweisung Bankarbeitstag
Bankaufsichtsbehrde Bankauskunft Bankauswahlverfahren Bankautomat
Bankbeamten Bankbilanz Bankbosse Bankbuch Bankbrgschaft
Bankbrgschaften Bankcomputer Bankdaten Bankdrcken Bankeinlage
Bankeinlagen Bankeinzug Bankenkrach Grobanken Bankfeiertag
Bankfeiertage Bankfiliale Bankfilialen Bankgruppen Bankkarten
Bankhobel Bankinstitut Bankkarten Bankkaufmann Bankkonten Bankkonto
Bankkontos Bankkunde Bankkunden Bankleitzahl Bankmanager Banknote
Banknoten Banknotendeckung Banknotenkurse Banknotenpapier
Banknotenumlauf Banknotenumlaufs Bankpleite Bankpleitenwelle
Bankpraktiker Bankprofis Bankrotteur Bankrotteurs Banksonderkonto
Banktochter Bankunternehmen Bankwelt Bankberfall Bankberfalls
Bannbulle Bannfluch Bannmeile Bantamgewicht Bankiers Raffke Abhnger
Baptist Baptistengemeinde Baptistengemeinden Baracken Barausschttung
Barbar Bargeld Bargeldbestand Bargeldmenge Barhocker Barockgitarre
Barockorchester Barockzeit Baron Bartagame Racket Basisbausteinen
Basisbausteine Basisbaustein Racket Bassgeigen Basisgren Radgre Baryon
Baracken Baskenmtze Bauanleitung Bauanleitungen Bauantrag Bauantrages
Bauantrags Bauarbeiten Bauarbeiter Bauarbeiterin Bauarbeiterinnen
Bauarbeitern Bauarbeiters Bauart Bauarten Bauauflage Bauauflagen
Bauaufseher Bauaufsicht Bauaufsichtsbehrde Bauaufsichtsrecht
Bauauftrag Bauausgaben Baubeginn Bauberatung Baubereich Bauberuf
Beherrschen Baubesichtigung Bauch Bauchansatz Bauchatmung Bauchdecke
Bauches Bauchfell Bauchflosse Bauchgefhl Bauchgrimmen Bauchgurt
Bauchhhle Bauchreden Bauchlage Bauchlandung Bauchlandungen Bauchmuskel
Bauchmuskeln Bauchs Bauelement Bauelemente Bauelementen Bauelements
Bearbeitung Bauentwurfszeichnung Bauauftrag Bauermann Beaufort
Bauernbrot Bauerndorf Bauernbursche Bauernbrot Bauernfnger Bauernhofes
Bauernhuser Bauernkonkurse Bauernkrieg Bauernkunst Bauernland
Bauernmarkt Bauernregel

In großen Gebieten Deutschlands (im Norden) fehlt die Unterscheidung zwischen langem e und langem ä; beide werden als langes e gesprochen.

This means: I have to convert /ɛː/ to /eː/.

I take a closer look at the XSLT style-sheet espeak2perfectipa.xsl. I didn’t improve this style-sheet during the last 4 months.

A few minutes ago, I made a slight modification to espeak2perfectipa.xsl (= XSLT style-sheet). These are the lines that modify the phonemes for Depot:

<xsl:when test="starts-with(grapheme, 'Depot')">
<xsl:for-each select="phoneme"><xsl:text>
</xsl:text><phoneme>
<xsl:variable name="sierra"><xsl:value-of select="."/></xsl:variable>
<xsl:variable name="sierra" select="replace($sierra, 'deːpɔt', 'deːpoː')"/>
<xsl:sequence select="$sierra"/></phoneme>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:when>

These are some lines from Ralf’s German dictionary 0.1.7 (= source XML document):

<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotbank</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpɔtbaŋk</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotfett</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpɔtfɛt</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotgebühr</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpɔtgeːbyːʀ</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotgesetz</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpɔtgeːzɛts</phoneme>
</lexeme>

These are the corresponding lines of the future version of the dictionary (= result XML document):

<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotbank</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpoːbaŋk</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotfett</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpoːfɛt</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotgebühr</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpoːgeːbyːʀ</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme role="Substantiv">
<grapheme>Depotgesetz</grapheme>
<phoneme>deːpoːgeːzɛts</phoneme>
</lexeme>

You can see the concept: The XSLT style-sheet defines which modifications the result PLS dictionary should contain.

The whole process is invoked via the Ubuntu terminal:

am3msi@am3msi-desktop:~/Documents/201001/0.1.8$ saxonb-xslt -ext:on -s:german-dictionary-0.1.7.xml -xsl:espeak2perfectipa.xsl -o:prepare-0.1.8.xml

Let me explain:
- saxonb-xslt is the XSLT processor;
- german-dictionary-0.1.7.xml (= Ralf’s German dictionary 0.1.7) is the XML source document;
- espeak2perfectipa.xsl is the XSLT style-sheet;
- prepare-0.1.8.xml is the XML result document. It should become Ralf’s German dictionary 0.1.8 which I will release as soon as I have made substiantial progress.

I will document further steps of dictionary development here in this blog. I hope that I can convince some people out there to apply this concept to other PLS dictionaries. So my goal is to educate people in PLS dictionary development.

A. Obviously, it is possible to import a Julius dictionary:

I didn’t know that this kind of dictionary existed. What are the properties of this format? And what are the advantages?

B. I want to import Ralf's German dictionary (version 0.1.7; October 29, 2009). Great, simon now recognizes the role attribute:

1. A few minutes ago, I imported Ralf's German dictionary into simon. I am offering 27 PLS dictionaries for 27 different languages. Choose the dictionary that suits your native language, and import it into simon.

2. Let’s take a look into the shadow dictionary.

3. The word kernchemischen is an Adjektiv. Let’s take a look at the specific entry in Ralf's German dictionary:

<lexeme role=”Adjektiv”>
<grapheme>kernchemischen</grapheme>
<phoneme>kɛʀnçeːmɪʃən</phoneme>
</lexeme>

You can see that the role attribute which is part of the <lexeme> element was imported by simon. Thanks for implementing that feature.

4. The word Kerndurchmesser is a Substantiv. The corresponding entry in the PLS dictionary:

<lexeme role=”Substantiv”>
<grapheme>Kerndurchmesser</grapheme>
<phoneme>kɛʀndʊʀçmɛsɐ</phoneme>
</lexeme>

You can see the strength of the simon import process: The last two letters Kerndurchmesser correspond with one single phoneme kɛʀndʊʀçmɛsɐ. Because such details are implemented, we can get a very good recognition rate as I showed in the video with 200 German words.

Why is Ralf's German dictionary good? Let me explain about the history of this dictionary:

a. The initial steps were done at Voxforge with the development of a German pronunciation dictionary. You can convince yourself: the script espeak2Phones.pl is great because it transforms eSpeak’s cryptic ASCII output into SAMPA. This approach is good for the German language.

b. Later, we used the dictionary acquistion project for the collection of about 8.000 pronunciations. Each single pronunciation was human-controlled. The phoneme concept follows the Wiktionary.

c. I used a German spelling dictionary from OpenOffice.org to get more words for the dictionary (Ubuntu terminal command: unmunch). With eSpeak I created the phonemes. With an XSLT style-sheet (Ubuntu terminal command: saxonb-xslt) I transformed the eSpeak phonemes into IPA phonemes. And I used the XSTL style-sheet for inserting the role attribute (Substantiv, Adjektiv, Zahlwort).

d. The result is the current version of Ralf's German dictionary. It would be nice if someone would help with the improvement. The real difficult work has been done. But it is necessary to fine-tune the dictionary. Let me give you a concrete example:

<lexeme>
<grapheme>stromsparen</grapheme>
<phoneme>ʃtʀɔmʃpaːʀən</phoneme>
</lexeme>
<lexeme>
<grapheme>stromsparend</grapheme>
<phoneme>ʃtʀɔmspaːʀənt</phoneme>
</lexeme>

What is wrong or could be improved? First, the role attribute is missing. stromsparen is a Verb. stromsparend is an Adverb. It would be good if someone added the missing role attributes. Second, there are small phoneme corrections necessary: ʃtʀɔmʃpaːʀən is OK because you speak “schtromschparen”. But ʃtʀɔmspaːʀənt is wrong because you don’t say “schtromsparent”.

You can see that improvements are necessary. Because Ralf's German dictionary is GPLv3, everyone is permitted to improve it.

For good recognition results, things like “schtromsparent” have to be fixed. It is possible that some dialects (e.g. Hamburg) speak “stromsparen” and not “schtromschparen”. I recommend that specific dialect dictionaries should be developed. This would be part of the fine-tuning, too. Ralf's German dictionary covers Standard German. You can use my dictionary for the development of a dialect dictionary that can be used by people who prefer to dictate in their own specific dialect.

By the way, did you notice the following detail? ʃtʀɔmspaːʀənt
ends with a “t” and not with a “d” because of the “Auslautverhärtung” (which is part of the German pronunciation). Such small details are implemented in the dictionary.

C. Conclusion: I know about the strengths of PLS, but I don’t know which advantages a Julius dictionary would have to offer.

You can see that there are two pronunciation alternatives. And this proves the strength of Ralf’s German dictionary: I am using an XSLT stylesheet to fix recurring pronunciation errors (eSpeak is not perfect), and to add alternate pronunciations (using replace: replace($ieren, 'tən', 'tn̩').

It would be great if someone would be willing to volunteer with the development of Ralf's German dictionary. My concept is as follows (compare with the XSLT concept):

Image source: Wikipedia

Ralf’s German dictionary (current version) = XML input
espeak2perfectipa.xsl = XSLT code
saxonb-xslt (Ubuntu terminal) = XSLT processor
Ralf’s German dictionary (future version) = Result document

The development of Ralf's German dictionary is done outside and independent from simon. simon does a pretty good conversion during import from IPA to SAMPA. So there is no need to worry.

Ralf’s German dictionary has a lot of known weaknesses. It would be great if someone who is interested in the improvement of this dictionary would volunteer. It is not that difficult to get involved.

Everyone is permitted to improve Ralf’s German dictionary (and the corresponding XSLT code espeak2perfectipa.xsl) because both are GPLv3 licensed.

Ralf's German dictionary is the flagship. There are other dictionaries which need improvement:

A. Austrian German
Ralf’s Austrian German dictionary – it is a very small dictionary. The target group is very specific. This dictionary should contain only words that are not included in Ralf's German dictionary. So if you live in Austria, it is intended that you import two dictionaries:
1. Ralf's German dictionary (with 300.000 words);
2. Ralf's Austrian German dictionary (with specific words).

I don’t know much about Austrian German. You can get an impression of how Austrian German sounds when watching the simon video tutorial.

B. Swiss German
Maybe I will release a Swiss German dictionary. If someone from Switzerland is interested in the development of such a dictionary, I could create Ralf's Swiss German dictionary (I haven’t done that so far). I think that there is a GPL word list at OpenOffice.org available. So a volunteer would be welcome. I can help you with the first steps (unmunch, eSpeak, paste). The result would be a PLS dictionary with a vocabulary that only contains words that are specific to Swiss German.

The future Ralf's Swiss German dictionary is interesting for people who live in (or emigrated from Germany to) Switzerland. If you emigrated from Germany to Switzerland, you should get familiar with Swiss German. So Ralf's Swiss German dictionary would be interesting for German people who immigrate to Switzerland. If you want to stay in Switzerland, learn their language! simon / Ralf's Swiss German dictionary might help you to reach that goal.

C. Medical German
Ralf’s German medical dictionary is targeted at people who are interested in medical education. It is necessary to develop specialised medical dictionaries. The concept is easy:
1. Import Ralf's German dictionary into simon.
2. Import Ralf's German medical dictionary. Then you can train simon to recognize medical terms (e.g. Linsenchirurgie – lɪnzənçiːʀʊʀgiː — Epilepsiebehandlung – ʔeːpiːlɛpsiːbeːandlʊŋ).
3. Develop specialised medical dictionaries: Human anatomy, pharmacology, genetics, etc..

simon could be used by medical students. So if you are a medical student (German language), you can improve Ralf's German medical dictionary. You can add words to this dictionary. Later, in a few years when you become a doctor, you might be able to use your experiences with simon / Ralf's German medical dictionary. Develop your own medical pronunciation dicitionary, and become a better doctor!

Of course, because we are in a very early stage of development, this is just something for medical students who have enough time.

D. Latin (German pronunciation)
Ralf’s Latin dictionary needs improvement. Latin has pronunciation rules that are different from German. The following way is possible: Improve Ralf's Latin dictionary with an XSLT stylesheet. I explained the concept above. The stylesheet needs information that are specific to the Latin language. Sometimes the Latin e is short (e.g. currere), sometimes it is long (e.g. dēbēre). These things need to be fixed.

And of course, 1.7 million Latin words is too much. The size of this dictionary has to be reduced because of performance issues. A dictionary with about 100.000 Latin words would be optimal at the moment. We don’t have yet a routine (compression algorithm) to handle dictionaries with e.g. 1.7 million words. This has to be developed (maybe someone could do that who is familiar with the unmunch command). But a dictionary with 100.000 Latin words would be a good start.

Latin is a “dead language”. But it should be possible – thanks to simon / Ralf's Latin dictionary to make the computer write down Latin words when you speak them into your microphone. From my point of view, Ralf’s Latin dictionary is something for Latin teachers (school or university). So the target group is very specific. I think that it can be fun for Latin students to use simon for the recognition of spoken Latin words.

E. Conclusion
The different dictionaries need improvement. Interested persons (people from Austria, Switzerland; medical students; Latin teachers) are encouraged to improve the specific dictionary on their own. My dictionaries are GPLv3 licensed. It is intended that someone improves them. This is my concept:

1. unmunch an OpenOffice.org spelling dictionary
2. generate phonemes with eSpeak
3. paste
4. convert eSpeak phonemes into IPA phonemes with XSLT
5. import the resulting PLS dictionary into simon
6. record a few words with simon
7. use simon for recognition (dictate e.g. into a gedit window)

This concept should work with dictionaries that use the German pronunciation (Austrian, Swiss, German medical, Latin). I didn’t test these dictionaries for training / recognition with simon. But the concept is the same. Since Ralf's German dictionary (flagship) works with simon, the other dictionaries with German pronunciation should work, too.