# PRD: Cognate Pairs Dataset v2 — Reconstruction from Verified Sources **Status:** Complete **Date:** 2026-03-14 (implemented 2026-03-13 through 2026-03-14) **Priority:** P0 — Cognate pairs are used for validation testing; any hallucinated data invalidates model evaluation. --- ## 1. Problem Statement Deep adversarial audit of the cognate pairs dataset (`data/training/cognate_pairs/`) has identified **6 critical bugs** in the generation pipeline (`scripts/assign_cognate_links.py` and `scripts/expand_cldf_full.py`). Multiple bugs fabricate or mislabel cognate relationships, making the dataset unsuitable for validation. This PRD specifies the complete reconstruction of the cognate pairs from verified scholarly sources. ### 1.1 Current State | File | Rows | Size | |------|------|------| | `cognate_pairs_inherited.tsv` | 18,257,301 | 1.18 GB | | `cognate_pairs_borrowing.tsv` | 116,757 | 8.0 MB | | `cognate_pairs_similarity.tsv` | 170,064 | 16.2 MB | Current 10-column schema: ``` Lang_A Word_A IPA_A Lang_B Word_B IPA_B Concept_ID Relationship Score Source ``` ### 1.2 Bugs Found #### Bug 1: ABVD `cognates.csv` Never Read (CRITICAL) **Location:** `expand_cldf_full.py` lines 200-266 **Impact:** All ABVD cognate data comes from `forms.csv` `Cognacy` column instead of the authoritative `cognates.csv` CognateTable (291,675 expert entries). The `Doubt` column (`true`/`false`) in `cognates.csv` is never consulted — disputed cognate assignments are treated as certain. #### Bug 2: ABVD Multi-Set Cognacy Truncation **Location:** `expand_cldf_full.py` line 257: `cog_num = cognacy.split(",")[0].strip()` **Impact:** Forms belonging to multiple cognate sets (e.g., `"1,64"`) lose all secondary memberships. Estimated 37,587 cognate set memberships silently discarded. #### Bug 3: WOLD Borrowing Pairs Fabricated (CRITICAL) **Location:** `assign_cognate_links.py` lines 185-255 (`_extract_borrowings_from_forms`) **Impact:** The script reads `forms.csv` `Borrowed` column and pairs any two forms from different languages that share a concept AND have SCA similarity >= 0.3, labeling them `"borrowing"`. This fabricates borrowing relationships. The authoritative `borrowings.csv` BorrowingTable (21,624 explicit donor-recipient events with `Target_Form_ID`, `Source_Form_ID`, `Source_languoid`, `Source_certain` fields) is **COMPLETELY UNUSED**. Example: A Turkish word and an Arabic word for the same concept are paired as a "borrowing" even if no actual borrowing relationship exists between them. #### Bug 4: Concept-Aligned Pairs Mislabeled as Inherited **Location:** `assign_cognate_links.py` lines 154, 160 **Impact:** 488,900+ algorithmically-generated concept-aligned pairs (SCA similarity >= 0.5) are written to `cognate_pairs_inherited.tsv` with Relationship = `cognate_inherited`, making them indistinguishable from expert cognates to downstream consumers. #### Bug 5: Sino-Tibetan Word Field is Concept String **Location:** `expand_cldf_full.py` line 319 **Impact:** For all Sino-Tibetan entries, `Word == Concept_ID` (e.g., `"above"`, `"all"`) instead of the actual lexical form. The IPA column contains the real phonetic data, but Word is a meaningless concept gloss. #### Bug 6: 50-Entry Hard Truncation (File-Sort Bias) **Location:** `assign_cognate_links.py` line 142: `members_sample = members[:50]` **Impact:** For large families (Austronesian: hundreds of languages), only the first 50 entries in alphabetical ISO order are used. Languages late in the alphabet are systematically excluded. --- ## 2. Design: Reconstructed Pipeline ### 2.1 Iron Law Compliance > All data enters the dataset through code that reads from external scholarly sources. No hardcoded lexical or cognate data. No AI-generated entries. Every extraction script: - Reads from CLDF/TSV source files cloned to `sources/` - Parses, transforms, writes to `staging/cognate_pairs/` - Writes `Source_Record_ID` for full provenance traceability ### 2.2 Extended Schema (14 Columns) ``` Lang_A Word_A IPA_A Lang_B Word_B IPA_B Concept_ID Relationship Score Source Relation_Detail Donor_Language Confidence Source_Record_ID ``` | Column | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | `Lang_A` | str | ISO 639-3 code of language A | | `Word_A` | str | Orthographic/transliteration form in language A | | `IPA_A` | str | IPA transcription of Word_A | | `Lang_B` | str | ISO 639-3 code of language B | | `Word_B` | str | Orthographic/transliteration form in language B | | `IPA_B` | str | IPA transcription of Word_B | | `Concept_ID` | str | Concepticon gloss or equivalent concept identifier | | `Relationship` | str | One of: `expert_cognate`, `borrowing`, `concept_aligned`, `similarity_only` | | `Score` | float | SCA-based similarity score (0.0-1.0), rounded to 4 decimal places | | `Source` | str | Source database identifier (e.g., `abvd`, `wold`, `iecor`, `sinotibetan`, `acd`) | | `Relation_Detail` | str | Populated ONLY when source provides: `inherited`, `borrowed`, or `-` | | `Donor_Language` | str | For borrowings only: source language from WOLD `Source_languoid`. `-` otherwise | | `Confidence` | str | Source-provided certainty: `certain`/`doubtful` (ABVD), `1`-`5` (WOLD), `-` otherwise | | `Source_Record_ID` | str | Traceable ID: ABVD cognateset ID, WOLD borrowing ID, IE-CoR cognateset ID, etc. | **Design decisions:** - No mother-daughter / sister-sister typing — NO source provides this at the pair level. - `Relation_Detail`, `Donor_Language`, `Confidence` are `-` when source doesn't provide them. We never fabricate metadata. - `Relationship` is script-assigned based on extraction method. `Relation_Detail` is source-provided. ### 2.3 Source Inventory | Source | Repository | Cognate Data | Status | |--------|------------|-------------|--------| | ABVD | `sources/abvd/` | `cognates.csv` CognateTable (291,675 entries, 19,356 sets) | Cloned, **unused by current code** | | WOLD | `sources/wold/` | `borrowings.csv` BorrowingTable (21,624 events) | Cloned, **unused by current code** | | Sino-Tibetan | `sources/sinotibetan/` | `sinotibetan_dump.tsv` (6,159 entries with COGID) | Cloned, partially used | | IE-CoR | `sources/iecor/` | `cognates.csv` CognateTable (Indo-European cognates) | **NOT CLONED — must clone** | | ACD | `sources/acd/` | Cached Austronesian data | Partially cached | | Internal lexicons | `data/training/lexicons/` | SCA similarity scoring | N/A | ### 2.4 Output Files Same 3-file split, but with corrected labels: - `cognate_pairs_inherited.tsv` — Expert cognates ONLY (ABVD CognateTable, IE-CoR CognateTable, Sino-Tibetan COGID, ACD) - `cognate_pairs_borrowing.tsv` — Verified borrowings ONLY (WOLD BorrowingTable with explicit donor-recipient pairs) - `cognate_pairs_similarity.tsv` — Concept-aligned pairs (algorithmically generated, clearly labeled) --- ## 3. Implementation Plan ### Phase 1: Source Preparation **Step 1.1** — Clone IE-CoR: ```bash cd sources/ git clone https://github.com/lexibank/iecor.git ``` **Step 1.2** — Verify all CLDF source files exist: - `sources/abvd/cldf/cognates.csv` (291,675 rows) - `sources/abvd/cldf/forms.csv` - `sources/abvd/cldf/languages.csv` - `sources/wold/cldf/borrowings.csv` (21,624 rows) - `sources/wold/cldf/forms.csv` - `sources/wold/cldf/languages.csv` - `sources/sinotibetan/sinotibetan_dump.tsv` (6,159 rows) - `sources/iecor/cldf/cognates.csv` (NEW) - `sources/iecor/cldf/forms.csv` (NEW) ### Phase 2: Extraction Scripts Each script follows the same pattern: 1. Read source CLDF files 2. Parse and validate 3. Generate pairwise cognate entries 4. Write to `staging/cognate_pairs/{source}_pairs.tsv` with 14-column schema 5. Print statistics and provenance summary #### Script 1: `scripts/extract_abvd_cognates_v2.py` **Source:** `sources/abvd/cldf/cognates.csv` + `forms.csv` + `languages.csv` **Key fixes:** - Read `cognates.csv` directly (has `Form_ID`, `Cognateset_ID`, `Doubt`) - Join to `forms.csv` on `Form_ID` for orthographic form and IPA - Handle multi-set membership: one form can appear in multiple cognate sets - Use `Doubt` column for Confidence: `Doubt=false` → `certain`, `Doubt=true` → `doubtful` - `Source_Record_ID` = `Cognateset_ID` from `cognates.csv` - Generate cross-language pairs within each cognate set - SCA similarity score computed on the fly #### Script 2: `scripts/extract_wold_borrowings_v2.py` **Source:** `sources/wold/cldf/borrowings.csv` + `forms.csv` + `languages.csv` **Key fixes:** - Read `borrowings.csv` BorrowingTable for actual donor-recipient pairs - Join `Target_Form_ID` and `Source_Form_ID` to `forms.csv` for word/IPA - Extract `Source_languoid` as `Donor_Language` - Extract `Source_certain` for Confidence - `Source_Record_ID` = borrowing `ID` from `borrowings.csv` - Each row produces exactly ONE pair (not fabricated from concept co-occurrence) #### Script 3: `scripts/extract_sinotibetan_cognates_v2.py` **Source:** `sources/sinotibetan/sinotibetan_dump.tsv` **Key fixes:** - Filter out rows where `BORROWING` column is non-empty - Use `IPA` column for IPA_A/IPA_B (correct) - Use `CONCEPT` column for Concept_ID - Use actual IPA form as Word (not concept gloss) — or use `-` and note that Word is not available - `Source_Record_ID` = `st_{COGID}` #### Script 4: `scripts/extract_iecor_cognates.py` (NEW) **Source:** `sources/iecor/cldf/cognates.csv` + `forms.csv` **Implementation:** - Read IE-CoR CognateTable (standard CLDF format) - Join `Form_ID` to `forms.csv` for word/IPA/language - Generate cross-language pairs within each cognate set - `Source_Record_ID` = IE-CoR `Cognateset_ID` #### Script 5: `scripts/extract_acd_cognates.py` (NEW) **Source:** `sources/acd/` cached data **Implementation:** - Parse ACD (Austronesian Comparative Dictionary) cached HTML/data - Extract cognate sets with etymon-level grouping - If ACD data is insufficiently structured, mark as P2 and skip #### Script 6: `scripts/rebuild_concept_aligned_pairs.py` **Source:** `data/training/lexicons/*.tsv` + `data/training/family_map.json` **Key fixes:** - Label as `concept_aligned` (NOT `cognate_inherited`) - Random sampling instead of file-sort truncation for groups > 50 - Score threshold: >= 0.5 → `concept_aligned`, 0.3-0.49 → `similarity_only` - `Source_Record_ID` = `-` (no source record, algorithmically generated) - `Confidence` = `-` (not from an expert source) #### Script 7: `scripts/merge_cognate_pairs.py` **Merges all staging files into final output:** - Deduplicates: if pair (A,B,concept) appears in both expert and concept-aligned, keep expert - Priority: expert > borrowing > concept_aligned > similarity - Writes 3 output files with 14-column schema - Prints final statistics ### Phase 3: Adversarial Audit Protocol For EACH extraction script, deploy a two-team audit: **Team A (Extraction):** - Runs the script - Produces staging output - Reports entry counts and statistics **Team B (Adversarial Auditor):** - Samples 20 random output rows - For each row, traces Source_Record_ID back to source CSV - Verifies Form_ID, Cognateset_ID, Language_ID all exist in source - Verifies IPA matches source data - Checks for entries in output that have no source backing - Checks for duplicate pairs, empty fields, malformed data - **VETO** power: if any entry cannot be traced, the entire script output is rejected **End-to-end cross-validation (after merge):** - Sample 50 random pairs from each output file (150 total) - Full provenance trace: output → staging → source CSV → published database - Verify no concept-aligned pairs appear in `cognate_pairs_inherited.tsv` - Run count statistics and compare to source totals ### Phase 4: Deployment 1. Commit PRD + all scripts + staging data 2. Run full pipeline: extract → audit → merge → validate 3. Update `docs/DATABASE_REFERENCE.md` with new cognate pair statistics 4. Push to GitHub 5. Push to HuggingFace via `scripts/push_to_hf.py` --- ## 4. Acceptance Criteria | Criterion | Metric | |-----------|--------| | Zero fabricated pairs | Every pair traceable to source record via Source_Record_ID | | Zero mislabeled relationships | Expert cognates in inherited.tsv ONLY; concept-aligned in similarity.tsv | | WOLD borrowings use BorrowingTable | All borrowing pairs from borrowings.csv, not forms.csv | | ABVD doubt flags preserved | Confidence column reflects Doubt field | | Multi-set membership preserved | Forms in multiple cognate sets generate pairs for ALL sets | | Sino-Tibetan borrowings excluded | Zero entries with BORROWING flag in inherited output | | IE-CoR coverage | Indo-European expert cognates present in inherited output | | Adversarial audit passes | 0/150 sample pairs fail provenance trace | --- ## 5. Non-Goals - **Mother-daughter / sister-sister relationship typing**: No source provides this at the pair level. We encode only what sources give us. - **Etymological chain reconstruction**: No source provides intermediary language chains. Out of scope. - **Cross-source conflation**: If ABVD and IE-CoR both provide a cognate set for the same forms, both are kept (deduplicated by pair identity, priority to more specific source). - **Replacing existing lexicon files**: This PRD only covers cognate pairs. Lexicon TSVs are not modified. --- ## 6. Risks | Risk | Mitigation | |------|-----------| | IE-CoR schema differs from ABVD | Read actual CLDF headers; adapt column names | | ACD data too unstructured | Mark as P2; skip if insufficient | | WOLD borrowings.csv has broken Form_IDs | Join validation: log and skip unresolvable IDs | | Sino-Tibetan Word column unusable | Use IPA as the primary identifier; Word = `-` | | Large pair counts overwhelm merge | Stream-process with generators; don't hold all pairs in memory |