English to IPA (eng_to_ipa)

This Python program utilizes the Carnegie-Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary to convert English text into the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Installation

1. Download this directory locally
2. Run python -m pip install . in the same directory as setup.py.

Key functions

The convert function is used to take English text and convert it to IPA, like so:

>>> import eng_to_ipa as ipa
>>> ipa.convert("The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.")
'ðə kwɪk braʊn fɑks ʤəmpt ˈoʊvər ðə ˈleɪzi dɔg.'

Note that words that cannot be found in the CMU dictionary are simply reprinted with an asterisk.

convert parameters

• text : string - The input string of English text to be converted to IPA notation.

• keep_punct : boolean, optional (default=True) - Determines whether or not the punctuation marks from the input string should be retained or not.

• retrieve_all : boolean, optional (default=False) - Given that some words might have more than one transcription, this parameter determines whether or not a list of all possible combinations of transcriptions should be returned (True) or just the string of one transcription (False).

• stress_marks : string, optional (default='both') - Determines whether or not the primary and secondary stress markings (ˈ, ˌ) should be retained. Understood arguments are:

  • "primary" - retains primary stress only
  • "secondary" - retains secondary stress only
  • "both" - to keep both primary and secondary stress markers
  • "none" - preserve neither primary nor secondary stress

• mode : string, optional (default='sql') - Accepts "sql" or "json", depending on which version of the database you'd like to use. As another option for JSON users, simply use the function jonvert instead of convert.

>>> ipa.convert("I went to Japan last summer.", retrieve_all=True, stress_marks=False)
['aɪ wɛnt tu ʤəpæn læst səmər.', 'aɪ wɛnt tə ʤəpæn læst səmər.', 'aɪ wɛnt tɪ ʤəpæn læst səmər.']

ipa_list

The ipa_list function returns a list of each word as a list of all its possible transcriptions. It has all the same optional stress_marks and keep_punct parameters as convert.

>>> ipa.ipa_list("The record was expensive.")
[['ði', 'ðə'], ['rəˈkɔrd', 'rɪˈkɔrd', 'ˈrɛkərd'], ['wɑz'], ['ɪkˈspɛnsɪv.']]

isin_cmu

The isin_cmu function takes a word (or list of words) and checks if it is in the CMU pronouncing dictionary (returns True or False). If a list of words is provided, then True will only be returned if every provided word is in the dictionary.

>>> ipa.isin_cmu("The dentist opened a new practice.")
True
>>> ipa.isin_cmu("emoji")
False

get_rhymes

The get_rhymes function returns a list of rhymes for a word or set of words.

>>> ipa.get_rhymes("rhyming function")
[['climbing', 'diming', 'liming', 'priming', 'timing'], ['compunction', 'conjunction', 'dysfunction', 'injunction', 'junction', 'malfunction']]

Use the jhymes function instead to force usage of the JSON database.

syllable_count

The syllable_count function returns an integer, corresponding to the number of syllables in a word. Returns a list of syllable counts if more than one word is provided in the input string.

>>> ipa.syllable_count("computer programming")
[3, 3]

Other Resources

For another Python package that offers support for rhyming and syllable counts (as well as other cool things), see pronouncingpy.