In LanguageTool, how do you create a dictionary and use it for spell checking?

Question

How do you create a dictionary for spell checking with Language Tool? I'm not a Java programmer and it was the first time I saw LT.

Answer 1

Hello this is my experience in creating a dictionary for spell checking with Language Tool ! Hope you enjoy it.

Part 1: How to create the dictionary

You need:

• A .txt file with the dictionary inside

• An .info file specifying the info on how to set LT output file (It is already present in LT directory).

• LanguageTool standalone version

• Java 8

At the end of this section, you will have:

• a .dict file i.e. the file with your dictionary in a readable form for LT

1. Install the LAST version of LT: https://languagetool.org/download/snapshots/?C=M;O=D
2. Be sure to have your .txt in the right format (a) and encoding (b): a. 1 word par line b. UTF8 encoding
3. In the command line write: a. java -cp languagetool.jar org.languagetool.tools.SpellDictionaryBuilder fr_FR -i path of the dictionary file -info path of the .info file -o path of the output file

where:

i. fr_FR is the code related to the language of the dictionary

ii. –i it’s the parameter of the input file (your .txt)

iii. –info it’s the parameter of the .info file related to the dictionary. You can create it following these instructions (http://wiki.languagetool.org/hunspell-support - “Configuring the dictionary” section) or use the .info already present – if present – in \org\languagetool\resource\yourlanguage

iv. –o it’s the parameter for specifing where you wish to save the .dict output file

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Part 2: How to integrate the dictionary on LT for spell checking

You need:

• JDK 1.8 (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html)

• Maven (https://maven.apache.org/download.cgi)

• IDE for Java (JetBrains, Eclipse, etc.)

• .info file + .dict file (see part1)

• GitHub LanguageTool project (https://github.com/languagetool-org/languagetool)

1. Set the JDK and Maven bin path (more info: https://maven.apache.org/install.html)
2. Copy the .info and .dict files created on part1 in \languagetool-master\languagetool-language-modules\YourLanguage\src\main\resources\org\languagetool\resource\YourLanguage\hunspell
3. Open with your IDE the java file called as the language of your dictionary (for ex. French.java) :

a. Change HunspellNoSuggestionRule in YourLanguage.java to MorfologikYourLanguageSpellerRule

 @Override
  public List<Rule> getRelevantRules(ResourceBundle messages) throws IOException {
    return Arrays.asList(
new CommaWhitespaceRule(messages),
new DoublePunctuationRule(messages),
new GenericUnpairedBracketsRule(messages,
Arrays.asList("[", "(", "{" /*"«", "‘"*/),
Arrays.asList("]", ")", "}"
/*"»", French dialog can contain multiple sentences. */
/*"’" used in "d’arm" and many other words */)),
new MorfologikYourLanguageSpellerRule(messages, this),
new UppercaseSentenceStartRule(messages, this),
new MultipleWhitespaceRule(messages, this),
new SentenceWhitespaceRule(messages),
// specific to French:
new CompoundRule(messages),
new QuestionWhitespaceRule(messages)
);
}

b. Create the new MorfologikYourLanguageSpellerRule.java in \languagetool-master\languagetool-language-modules\YourLanguage\src\main\java\org\languagetool\rules\YourLanguage :

/* LanguageTool, a natural language style checker
 * Copyright (C) 2012 Marcin Miłkowski (http://www.languagetool.org)
 *
 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301
 * USA
 */

package org.languagetool.rules.fr;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ResourceBundle;

import org.languagetool.Language;
import org.languagetool.rules.spelling.morfologik.MorfologikSpellerRule;

public final class MorfologikYourLanguageSpellerRule extends MorfologikSpellerRule {

    public static final String RULE_ID = "MORFOLOGIK_RULE_CODEOFYOURLANGUAGE"; /* for ex. Fr_FR for French */

    private static final String RESOURCE_FILENAME = "PATH TO YOUR .DICT FILE";

    public MorfologikFrenchSpellerRule(ResourceBundle messages,
                                      Language language) throws IOException {
    super(messages, language);
  }

    @Override
    public String getFileName() {
        return RESOURCE_FILENAME;
    }

    @Override
    public String getId() {
        return RULE_ID;
    }
}

c. Go to \languagetool-master\ with your command line and write : Mvn package

d. See your results in \languagetool-master\languagetool-standalone\target\LanguageTool-3.4-SNAPSHOT\LanguageTool-3.4-SNAPSHOT.

Answer 2

As an alternative solution I have created a GUI program in order to make easier-to-do what @KeyPi answered. You can find it here .