Corpora: How to compute number of syllables in a word

Bruce L. Lambert (lambertb@uic.edu)
Thu, 18 Feb 1999 14:28:48 -0600

As part of my work on phonetic/phonological similarity between drug names,
I have written a short lisp program to 'predict' how many syllables are in
a word based on its orthographic representation. (In English, the number of
vowels is a pretty good predictor, as long as you deal with the exceptions,
e.g., double vowels, silent vowels at the end of words, etc.) I'm sure I
must have re-invented the wheel.

What other programs do people know about for computing the number of
syllables in a word from its orthographic representation?

-bruce

Bruce Lambert, PhD
Department of Pharmacy Administration
University of Illinois at Chicago
833 S. Wood St. (M/C 871)
Chicago, IL 60612-7231

phone: 312-996-2411
fax: 312-996-0868