Patent ID: 7406417

Claim:
A method for conditioning a database of words formed of graphemes and phonemes, for automatic speech processing using the database, said method comprising: automatically assigning the graphemes to the phonemes to form grapheme/phoneme pairs for the words in the database having an identical number of graphemes and phonemes; automatically assigning the graphemes to the phonemes for each word in the database having more graphemes than phonemes, to form grapheme/phoneme pairs until an assignment error is detected based on previously determined assignments, or no phonemes remain for the word, then combining a plurality of graphemes in the word to form a grapheme unit and assigning the grapheme unit to one of the phonemes; automatically assigning the graphemes to the phonemes for each word in the database having fewer graphemes than phonemes, by assigning a single grapheme in the word to a plurality of phonemes combined to form a phoneme unit, with remaining graphemes and phonemes in the word corresponding to previously assigned grapheme/phoneme pairs; automatically reexamining remaining words for previously determined grapheme/phoneme pairs and at least one of phoneme units and grapheme units determined previously; automatically erasing, at least after said assigning for the words in the database having an identical number of graphemes and phonemes, any assignment which contradicts another assignment determined to be valid; and generating, from the database, individual phonemes and storing the individual phonemes in a phoneme file.