How Soundex Works |
  
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How Soundex Works |
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The following steps explain how Soundex works on this sample text: Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.
1.The name or phrase we want to use Soundex for is converted to uppercase letters, and all special characters and numbers are removed. The result looks like the following example:
BEN FRANKLIN WAS BORN ON JANUARY
2.Each word is examined, and if it is only one letter long, it is eliminated. Also, the words “BANK,” “THE,” “AND,” “FOR,” “OF,” “SO,” “AT,” “AS,” “IS,” “BE,” and “TO” are thrown out. Otherwise, the first letter of each word is kept, and all the following letters are eliminated: A, E, I, O, U, W, and Y:
BN FRNKLN WS BRN ON JNR
3.Each word is converted to a four-letter Soundex code by keeping the first letter and replacing the remaining letters with numeric values until the code is four digits long or until the end of the word is reached. The replacement digit is not added if it is the same as the previous digit. If the end of the word is reached and the code isn’t four digits long, enough zeros are added to the end to make it four digits.
4.The letters are replaced according to the list below:
•B, F, P, and V are replaced by a “1.”
•C, G, J, K, Q, S, X, and Z are replaced by a “2.”
•D and T are replaced by a “3.”
•L is replaced by a “4.”
•M and N are replaced by a “5.”
•R is replaced by a “6.”
The result for the example text above is as follows:
B500 F652 W200 B650 O500 J560
See the following links for more information about this process: