Multilanguage soundex algorithm and library

WIKI says:

Soundex is a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound, as pronounced in English. The goal is for homophones to be encoded to the same representation so that they can be matched despite minor differences in spelling. The algorithm mainly encodes consonants; a vowel will not be encoded unless it is the first letter. Soundex is the most widely known of all phonetic algorithms (in part because it is a standard feature of popular database software such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL Server and Oracle) and is often used (incorrectly) as a synonym for "phonetic algorithm". Improvements to Soundex are the basis for many modern phonetic algorithms.

But world is bigger then only English.

In my solution there is an implementation for Russian language and there is a simple method for another languages configuration. I will speak with Leonid, may be he will be so kind and  will add some European languages to this tool (Ukrainian, for example :-) )

Usage:

>>> import pysoundex
>>> print pysoundex.soundex("Приветище", lang='ru_RU')
п613
>>> print pysoundex.soundex("Hello")
h400   <--- the same as un mysql!
>>> print pysoundex.soundex("Halo")
h400

Configuration for Russian language is:


  "ru_RU": {
  "vowels": ['у','е','ы','а','о','э','я','и','ю','ь','ъ','й'],
  "consonants": {
   1: ['б','п','ф','в'], 
   2: ['с','ц','з','к','г','х'],  
   3: ['т','д'], 
   4: ['л','й'], 
   5: ['м','н'], 
   6: ['р'], 
  
  }

 },


All language rules are configurable in the soundconfig variable in the lang_soundconfig.py file.

Feel free to modify and add new languages.

You can download it here:

https://github.com/vk4arm/pysoundex