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Fix 874 entries: N before velar K/G should be NG#11

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ptarjan:fix-velar-nasal
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Fix 874 entries: N before velar K/G should be NG#11
ptarjan wants to merge 1 commit into
Alexir:masterfrom
ptarjan:fix-velar-nasal

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@ptarjan ptarjan commented Feb 25, 2026

Duplicate of cmusphinx/cmudict#52 — submitted here per discussion in cmusphinx/cmudict#53 about which repo is canonical.

Summary

In English, /n/ always assimilates to the velar nasal [ŋ] before /k/ or /g/. The CMU dictionary already uses NG correctly for most entries (e.g., THINK -> TH IH1 NG K), but 874 entries still had plain N before K or G.

This is a systematic phonological rule with no exceptions in English — the N phoneme cannot surface before velar consonants without assimilating.

Examples

Word Before After
AANCOR AA1 N K AO2 R AA1 NG K AO2 R
ANGLOPHILE AE1 N G L AH0 F AY2 L AE1 NG G L AH0 F AY2 L
ANCHETA AA0 N K EH1 T AH0 AA0 NG K EH1 T AH0
WINGATE W IH1 N G EY0 T W IH1 NG G EY0 T

Note that many entries were already correct (e.g., ANCHOR -> AE1 NG K ER0, THINK -> TH IH1 NG K). This PR fixes the remaining inconsistencies.

Methodology

Scanned all entries for sequences where the N phoneme is immediately followed by K or G, and replaced N with NG in those positions. The change is purely mechanical — no judgment calls required, since velar nasal assimilation before velar stops is exceptionless in English.

Reference

Ladefoged & Johnson (2014), A Course in Phonetics: /n/ assimilates to [ŋ] before velar consonants /k, g/ in all English dialects.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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