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Encode text phonetically with Soundex

Source: R/preparer_word.R
as_soundex.Rd

Soundex is the classic phonetic code: it keeps the first letter and reduces the rest to a short digit string (for example "Robert" and "Rupert" both become "R163"), so spellings that sound alike share one key. It is coarser and older than Metaphone but widely understood and a good default for English surnames.

Usage

as_soundex(text)

Arguments

text

A character string or vector to encode, or a token list-column (one character vector of tokens per row) when the encoder is placed after a token generator – each token is then encoded in place.

Value

A character vector of Soundex keys (letter followed by digits), one per input element.

Details

Runs on either side of a token generator: ahead of one (on a text column), or after one (on a token column, encoding each token in place). As with any phonetic key it favours recall over precision; pair it with a sharper field rather than matching on the key alone.

See also

Other phonetic encoders: as_cologne(), as_metaphone()

Examples

as_soundex("Robert")
#> [1] "R163"
as_soundex(c("Robert", "Rupert"))  # same key
#> [1] "R163" "R163"