The minpair software produces a comprehensive catalog of minimal pairs from a word list, with each pair differing only by one segment.
Minpair is a software program that generates a comprehensive list of minimal pairs from a given set of words. It operates using UTF-8 Unicode encoding, with each word entry consisting of two parts separated by a tab - the word itself followed by an identifier, typically a gloss or record number.
The output is organized such that it provides a contrast between the two segments differing in the minimal pair. The two words are listed along with their respective identifiers, and the context for the difference includes a difference site marker that defaults to an underscore. The segments differing are listed in character code order, ensuring that all tokens of the same pair will sort together.
By default, Minpair only searches for pairs of words of the same length that differ in exactly one segment. However, users can add single insertions/deletions and single transpositions using command-line options. To find all minimal pairs, it's necessary for the input notation to use one character for each segment. Minpair accommodates instances wherein this is not the ideal situation by accepting definitions of multigraphs, such as glottalized /p/, /t/, and /k/. The multigraph definition file should have a single character sequence per line and be encoded in UTF-8 Unicode.
The basic program comes with a command-line interface. Still, users can use the optional graphical interface provided by mpg, which can also sort minpair outputs if a compatible sort utility is available. Users can also use mpg independently to find minimal pairs that involve substitutions, though it cannot handle indels and transpositions. However, it can still be useful to find phonological rules and pairs of words that differ in two positions, with a maximum distance between the two positions specified.
Minpair requires users to have msort to run. The most recent release affects only mpg, fixing bugs in the handling of glosses and eliminating the dependency on iwidgets, which simplifies installation. Additionally, the current version's license is GPL 3.
The output is organized such that it provides a contrast between the two segments differing in the minimal pair. The two words are listed along with their respective identifiers, and the context for the difference includes a difference site marker that defaults to an underscore. The segments differing are listed in character code order, ensuring that all tokens of the same pair will sort together.
By default, Minpair only searches for pairs of words of the same length that differ in exactly one segment. However, users can add single insertions/deletions and single transpositions using command-line options. To find all minimal pairs, it's necessary for the input notation to use one character for each segment. Minpair accommodates instances wherein this is not the ideal situation by accepting definitions of multigraphs, such as glottalized /p/, /t/, and /k/. The multigraph definition file should have a single character sequence per line and be encoded in UTF-8 Unicode.
The basic program comes with a command-line interface. Still, users can use the optional graphical interface provided by mpg, which can also sort minpair outputs if a compatible sort utility is available. Users can also use mpg independently to find minimal pairs that involve substitutions, though it cannot handle indels and transpositions. However, it can still be useful to find phonological rules and pairs of words that differ in two positions, with a maximum distance between the two positions specified.
Minpair requires users to have msort to run. The most recent release affects only mpg, fixing bugs in the handling of glosses and eliminating the dependency on iwidgets, which simplifies installation. Additionally, the current version's license is GPL 3.
What's New
Version 5.1: N/A