IPA Zounds is a software that applies a set of sound change rules to a specified lexicon for modeling language sound changes.
IPA Zounds is a powerful software tool that makes it easy to model language sound changes. This is done by applying a given set of sound change rules to a given lexicon. The software has a built-in model of the International Phonetic Alphabet, which allows users to write input words in IPA characters and apply the rules using those characters or the distinctive features of the model.
IPA Zounds is written in Python, and the GUI uses the PyGTK toolkit. The code and documentation are released under the GNU GPL, making it free to download, use and modify. There are three main parts to IPA Zounds:
First, there is Zounds, the sound change engine which applies the rules to the lexicon. This can be used by itself from the command line or by another script. It is very similar to other sound change tools such as Mark Rosenfelder's Sound Change Applier and the Lingua::SoundChange Perl module.
The second part is an IPA extension which adds support for using IPA characters and binary features in the lexicon and rules. This can also be used from the command line or by another script. Finally, there is a GUI to the IPA extension which allows for a nice display of the lexicon, rules and output, provided a Unicode font with the appropriate glyphs is installed.
One of the standout features of IPA Zounds is its ability to work with different orthographies. The application uses Unicode to represent all IPA characters. However, the program can automatically convert between Unicode and X-SAMPA, and user-defined script mappings can be made so that all input and output are in a different orthography.
The latest release of IPA Zounds includes several new features and improvements. A reverse applier was added to the GUI, allowing users to undo transformations. Dialects, rule groups, persistent rules, and dates were added to the rules file syntax, allowing restricted transformations. The ability to cancel transformations was also added, and error handling of certain problems was improved. The documentation was revised to be more user-friendly and tutorial-like.
In summary, IPA Zounds is an excellent software tool for anyone interested in modelling sound changes in language. Its range of features and flexibility make it a top choice for linguists, language enthusiasts and researchers alike.
IPA Zounds is written in Python, and the GUI uses the PyGTK toolkit. The code and documentation are released under the GNU GPL, making it free to download, use and modify. There are three main parts to IPA Zounds:
First, there is Zounds, the sound change engine which applies the rules to the lexicon. This can be used by itself from the command line or by another script. It is very similar to other sound change tools such as Mark Rosenfelder's Sound Change Applier and the Lingua::SoundChange Perl module.
The second part is an IPA extension which adds support for using IPA characters and binary features in the lexicon and rules. This can also be used from the command line or by another script. Finally, there is a GUI to the IPA extension which allows for a nice display of the lexicon, rules and output, provided a Unicode font with the appropriate glyphs is installed.
One of the standout features of IPA Zounds is its ability to work with different orthographies. The application uses Unicode to represent all IPA characters. However, the program can automatically convert between Unicode and X-SAMPA, and user-defined script mappings can be made so that all input and output are in a different orthography.
The latest release of IPA Zounds includes several new features and improvements. A reverse applier was added to the GUI, allowing users to undo transformations. Dialects, rule groups, persistent rules, and dates were added to the rules file syntax, allowing restricted transformations. The ability to cancel transformations was also added, and error handling of certain problems was improved. The documentation was revised to be more user-friendly and tutorial-like.
In summary, IPA Zounds is an excellent software tool for anyone interested in modelling sound changes in language. Its range of features and flexibility make it a top choice for linguists, language enthusiasts and researchers alike.
What's New
Version 3.1: N/A