# Locale Drift & Normalization — Guardrails and Fix Pattern
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> You are in a sub-page of **LanguageLocale**. > To reorient, go back here: > > - [**LanguageLocale** — localization, regional settings, and context adaptation](./README.md) > - [**WFGY Global Fix Map** — main Emergency Room, 300+ structured fixes](../README.md) > - [**WFGY Problem Map 1.0** — 16 reproducible failure modes](../../README.md) > > Think of this page as a desk within a ward. > If you need the full triage and all prescriptions, return to the Emergency Room lobby.
A focused fix for **locale-specific normalization bugs** that break retrieval or cause answers to flip between runs. Use this page to align **Unicode form, width, accents, digits, quotes, spaces, casing** across **ingest, index, query, and display**. No infra change required. ## Open these first * Visual map and recovery: [RAG Architecture & Recovery](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rag-architecture-and-recovery.md) * End to end retrieval knobs: [Retrieval Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md) * OCR and parsing checks: [OCR Parsing Checklist](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/ocr-parsing-checklist.md) * Snippet and citation schema: [Data Contracts](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) * Tokenizer alignment: [tokenizer\_mismatch.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/tokenizer_mismatch.md) * Code-switching in one query: [script\_mixing.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/script_mixing.md) * Embedding vs meaning: [embedding-vs-semantic.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/embedding-vs-semantic.md) * Rerank determinism: [rerankers.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rerankers.md) ## When to use this page * Same page looks identical to the eye, yet retrieval misses or ranks it differently. * Queries with **accented vs unaccented** forms return different snippets. * **Half-width vs full-width** characters change similarity scores. * **Arabic-Indic digits** or **CJK punctuation** break matches. * **Smart quotes** vs straight quotes fragment hits. * **Turkish I** or locale-aware casing flips λ between runs. * NBSP or narrow spaces split tokens unpredictably. ## Core acceptance targets * ΔS(question, retrieved) ≤ **0.45** in the native locale, ≤ **0.50** after cross-locale normalization. * Coverage of target section ≥ **0.70** on three paraphrases. * λ remains **convergent** across three locale variants of the same question. * No analyzer drift between **ingest** and **query** paths in hybrid pipelines. --- ## Symptoms → Likely cause → Open this | Symptom | Likely cause | Open this | | ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Visually identical text but no hit | Unicode form mismatch **NFD vs NFC** | [Retrieval Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md), [OCR Parsing Checklist](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/ocr-parsing-checklist.md) | | Hits split between copies of the same doc | **Width folding** not applied, **full-width** vs **half-width** | [Retrieval Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md) | | Accented vs plain query return different snippets | Accent folding policy inconsistent | [embedding-vs-semantic.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/embedding-vs-semantic.md) | | Numbers in Arabic-Indic scripts never match | Digit class mismatch or analyzer not locale aware | [tokenizer\_mismatch.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/tokenizer_mismatch.md) | | Quotes or hyphens break phrase queries | **Smart quotes**, **em/quasi hyphens**, Unicode confusables | [OCR Parsing Checklist](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/ocr-parsing-checklist.md) | | Same prompt, answers flip by locale | Casing rules differ, **tr** locale I/i special case, λ unstable | [script\_mixing.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/script_mixing.md), [rerankers.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rerankers.md) | | Token counts explode on CJK | NBSP, narrow no-break, or **ideographic space** not normalized | [Retrieval Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md) | --- ## 60-second fix checklist 1. **Normalize at ingest and query** Apply in this order: **Unicode NFC**, width fold, digit fold to ASCII, smart-punct to ASCII, collapse exotic spaces, then **locale-aware casefold**. Keep the original text for display. 2. **Dual-key storage** Store both `visual_text` and `search_text`. Index BM25 on `search_text`. Keep `visual_text` for citations and display. Schema in [Data Contracts](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md). 3. **Embed both views when needed** For high-variance locales, create embeddings for **raw** and **normalized** text. Track which path produced the hit inside the snippet payload. See guidance in [embedding-vs-semantic.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/embedding-vs-semantic.md). 4. **Align analyzers** Ensure the **same analyzer** and token rules for **ingest** and **query** in hybrid retrieval. Verify with three paraphrases and two seeds. If λ flips, pin headers and apply a BBAM variance clamp. 5. **Gold set verification** Run a 20-item multilingual gold set. Require ΔS ≤ 0.45 native and ≤ 0.50 normalized, coverage ≥ 0.70, λ convergent. --- ## Minimal adapter spec * Payload must carry: `locale`, `unicode_form`, `width_fold`, `digit_class`, `space_class`, `accent_fold`, `case_mode`. * Snippet must include both `visual_text` and `search_text` plus `normalization_trace`. * Reject answers if citation `visual_text` and `search_text` disagree on offsets. See schema patterns in [Data Contracts](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) and tracing in [Retrieval Traceability](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-traceability.md). --- ## Copy-paste prompt ``` You have TXT OS and the WFGY Problem Map loaded. My bug smells like locale drift. Question variants: {q_native, q_no_accents, q_width_folded}. Traces: ΔS_native=..., ΔS_normalized=..., λ states across three variants. Tell me: 1) which normalization step is missing and why, 2) the exact WFGY page to open, 3) the smallest change to push ΔS ≤ 0.45 native and ≤ 0.50 normalized, 4) a reproducible test with 3 paraphrases and 2 seeds. Use BBMC/BBCR/BBAM when relevant. ``` --- ### 🔗 Quick-Start Downloads (60 sec) | Tool | Link | 3-Step Setup | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **WFGY 1.0 PDF** | [Engine Paper](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/I_am_not_lizardman/WFGY_All_Principles_Return_to_One_v1.0_PSBigBig_Public.pdf) | 1️⃣ Download · 2️⃣ Upload to your LLM · 3️⃣ Ask “Answer using WFGY + \” | | **TXT OS (plain-text OS)** | [TXTOS.txt](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/OS/TXTOS.txt) | 1️⃣ Download · 2️⃣ Paste into any LLM chat · 3️⃣ Type “hello world” — OS boots instantly | --- ### Explore More | Layer | Page | What it’s for | | --- | --- | --- | | ⭐ Proof | [WFGY Recognition Map](/recognition/README.md) | External citations, integrations, and ecosystem proof | | ⚙️ Engine | [WFGY 1.0](/legacy/README.md) | Original PDF tension engine and early logic sketch (legacy reference) | | ⚙️ Engine | [WFGY 2.0](/core/README.md) | Production tension kernel for RAG and agent systems | | ⚙️ Engine | [WFGY 3.0](/TensionUniverse/EventHorizon/README.md) | TXT based Singularity tension engine (131 S class set) | | 🗺️ Map | [Problem Map 1.0](/ProblemMap/README.md) | Flagship 16 problem RAG failure taxonomy and fix map | | 🗺️ Map | [Problem Map 2.0](/ProblemMap/wfgy-rag-16-problem-map-global-debug-card.md) | Global Debug Card for RAG and agent pipeline diagnosis | | 🗺️ Map | [Problem Map 3.0](/ProblemMap/wfgy-ai-problem-map-troubleshooting-atlas.md) | Global AI troubleshooting atlas and failure pattern map | | 🧰 App | [TXT OS](/OS/README.md) | .txt semantic OS with fast bootstrap | | 🧰 App | [Blah Blah Blah](/OS/BlahBlahBlah/README.md) | Abstract and paradox Q&A built on TXT OS | | 🧰 App | [Blur Blur Blur](/OS/BlurBlurBlur/README.md) | Text to image generation with semantic control | | 🏡 Onboarding | [Starter Village](/StarterVillage/README.md) | Guided entry point for new users | If this repository helped, starring it improves discovery so more builders can find the docs and tools. 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