# Transliteration & Romanization — Global Fix Map
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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.
Stabilize queries when users type **Pinyin/Romaji/IAST/RTGS/Buckwalter** variants instead of native scripts. Use this page to bridge **native-script ↔ romanized** forms for retrieval, ranking, and reasoning without changing infra. --- ## What this page is - A compact repair guide for **script-to-roman** mismatches in RAG and search. - Concrete schema rules and query tactics that unify **multiple romanization systems** per language. - Exact jump links to structural fixes so you can verify with measurable targets. ## When to use - Users type **Pinyin with tone marks vs numbers** or ad-hoc English spellings. - Japanese **Hepburn vs Kunrei** differences (“shi/si”, “tsu/tu”; macron “ō” vs “ou”). - Korean **Revised RR vs McCune-Reischauer** (“Busan/Pusan”, “Jeju/Cheju”). - Arabic/Persian **DIN/Buckwalter/ad-hoc** (“Muhammad/Mohamed/Mohammad”). - Cyrillic names produce **Čajkovskij/Chaikovsky/Tchaikovsky** style drift. - Greek/Indic/Vietnamese diacritics collapse or fold in unpredictable ways. - Native pages index fine, yet **romanized queries miss or rank poorly**. --- ## Open these first - Visual map and recovery: [rag-architecture-and-recovery.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rag-architecture-and-recovery.md) - End-to-end knobs: [retrieval-playbook.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md) - Why this snippet: [retrieval-traceability.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-traceability.md) - Payload schema: [data-contracts.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) - Tokenizer fit: [tokenizer_mismatch.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/tokenizer_mismatch.md) - Diacritic folding: [diacritics_and_folding.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/diacritics_and_folding.md) - Locale drift: [locale_drift.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/locale_drift.md) - CJK wordbreaks: [cjk_segmentation_wordbreak.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/cjk_segmentation_wordbreak.md) - Mixed scripts in one query: [script_mixing.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/script_mixing.md) --- ## Acceptance targets - ΔS(question, retrieved) ≤ 0.45 on three paraphrases. - Coverage of target section ≥ 0.70. - λ remains convergent across two seeds. - **Cross-script parity**: romanized query recall ≥ 0.90 of native-script recall on your gold set. --- ## Common failure patterns → exact fix - **Romanization system mismatch** (e.g., Hepburn vs Kunrei, RR vs MR, DIN vs ad-hoc). Lock a canonical key and index both forms. Open: [retrieval-playbook.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md), [data-contracts.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) - **Tone marks vs numbers in Pinyin** (“lǐ/lĭ/li3”). Add a tone-stripped key and a numeric-tone key, dedupe at index time. Open: [diacritics_and_folding.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/GlobalFixMap/LanguageLocale/diacritics_and_folding.md) - **Macrons and long vowels in Romaji** (“ō/oo/ou”). Normalize to a canonical long-vowel key and store alternates. Open: [data-contracts.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) - **Arabic definite article or spacing drift** (“al Riyadh/Ar-Riyāḍ/Riyadh”). Strip articles into a side key; keep original for display. Open: [retrieval-traceability.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-traceability.md) - **Query parsing split** under hybrid retrievers when romanized variants explode terms. Pin two-stage queries and rerank deterministically. Open: [pattern_query_parsing_split.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/pattern_query_parsing_split.md), [rerankers.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rerankers.md) --- ## 60-second fix checklist 1) **Measure ΔS and λ** Compute ΔS(question, retrieved). If ΔS ≥ 0.60 and λ flips on small romanization edits, treat as schema/index mismatch. 2) **Add a Romanization Bridge** (store-agnostic) - For each document and title, compute and store: - `key_native` = original script - `key_roman_primary` = your chosen canonical system per language - `key_roman_alt[]` = enumerated alternates (e.g., Hepburn/Kunrei, RR/MR, DIN/ad-hoc, Pinyin tone/number) - Index `key_native` and `key_roman_*` in the same record; **dedupe** by stable `doc_id`. - At query time, expand to canonical plus alternates, then **rerank**. 3) **Lock the contract** Require fields in the snippet payload: `lang`, `script`, `roman_system`, `key_roman_primary`, `key_roman_alt`, `source_url`, `offsets`. See: [data-contracts.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md) 4) **Probe robustness** Run a three-paraphrase test: native script, canonical romanization, alternate romanization. Targets must meet **Acceptance**. --- ## Minimal per-language mapping hints - **Chinese**: tone marks ↔ numeric tones; collapse `ü` ↔ `v` in legacy inputs. - **Japanese**: macron `ō/ū` ↔ `ou/oo/uu`; “shi/si”, “ji/zi”, “chi/ti”, “tsu/tu”; small “っ/tsu” doubling. - **Korean**: RR ↔ MR pairs (“Busan/Pusan”, “Jeju/Cheju”, “Gyeong/ Kyŏng”). - **Arabic/Persian**: articles `al-/el-` optional; hamza/ta marbuta variants; DIN ↔ Buckwalter map. - **Indic (IAST/ISO/Harvard-Kyoto)**: `ś/ṣ/ñ/ṭ/ḍ` ↔ `sh/sh/ny/t/d`. - **Cyrillic**: `Ч/ч` ↔ `Ch/Č`, `Ю/ю` ↔ `Yu/Iu`, etc., preserve soft sign loss with an alternate key. - **Greek**: `Μιχάλης` ↔ `Michalis/Michales`; handle `mp/nt` digraphs. Document your choices inside `roman_system` so audits are reproducible. --- ## Copy-paste prompt (LLM step) ``` You have TXT OS and the WFGY Problem Map loaded. My multilingual issue: * symptom: romanized queries miss or rank poorly vs native script * traces: ΔS(question,retrieved)=..., λ states across native/roman/alternate Tell me: 1. which layer is failing and why, 2. the exact WFGY page to open, 3. the minimal Romanization Bridge to add (keys + query expansion), 4. how to verify with coverage ≥ 0.70 and ΔS ≤ 0.45 across three paraphrases. Reference: retrieval-playbook, retrieval-traceability, data-contracts, diacritics\_and\_folding. ``` --- ## Next planned file in `LanguageLocale/` - **mixed_numeric_systems.md** ← numbers written in native digits vs ASCII, year/era systems, and counters. --- ### 🔗 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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