johnlockejrr/yid_synth_pangoline

Dataset Card for Yiddish Synthetic Pangoline Dataset

Dataset Summary

The Yiddish Synthetic Pangoline Dataset is a comprehensive collection of synthetic Yiddish document images generated using a custom implementation of Pangoline, a text-to-image synthesis tool. The dataset contains high-quality synthetic Yiddish text rendered as images, along with corresponding ground truth text and ALTO-XML layout annotations. This dataset is designed for training and evaluating Yiddish OCR models, document layout analysis systems, and text recognition algorithms.

Dataset Details

Dataset Sources

• Repository: https://huggingface.co/datasets/johnlockejrr/yid_synth_pangoline
• Source Library: The Yiddish Translation of the TaNaKh by Yehoyesh Shloyme Blumgarten, Yiddish New Testament, https://github.com/New-Languages-for-NLP/yiddish
• Generation Tool: Custom Pangoline implementation

Uses

Direct Use

This dataset is intended for:

• OCR Model Training: Training Yiddish optical character recognition models
• Document Layout Analysis: Developing systems for understanding document structure and layout
• Text Recognition Research: Advancing Yiddish text recognition algorithms
• Synthetic Data Studies: Research on synthetic data generation and its applications
• Multilingual OCR: Cross-lingual OCR model development

Out-of-Scope Use

• Commercial OCR Products: Without proper licensing verification
• Biometric or Personal Identification: The dataset contains synthetic text, not real personal documents
• Training Models for Deceptive Purposes: Any use intended to deceive or mislead

Dataset Structure

The dataset is organized with the following structure:

Dataset Split: train/validation/test (85%/10%/5%)
├── image: High-resolution synthetic Yiddish document images (JPG format)
├── text: Ground truth Yiddish text content (TXT format)
└── xml: ALTO-XML layout annotations (XML format)

Data Fields

• image: PIL Image object containing the synthetic Yiddish document
• text: String containing the ground truth Yiddish text
• xml: String containing ALTO-XML formatted layout annotations

Dataset Statistics

• Total Files: 75,432 samples
• Training Set: 64,116 samples (85%)
• Validation Set: 7,543 samples (10%)
• Test Set: 3,772 samples (5%)
• Total Dataset Size: 28 GB
• Image Format: JPG (compressed for efficiency)
• Text Encoding: UTF-8
• XML Format: ALTO v4.3 standard

Dataset Creation

Curation Rationale

This dataset was created to address the scarcity of high-quality Yiddish OCR training data. Traditional OCR datasets often lack sufficient Yiddish text samples, making it challenging to develop robust Yiddish text recognition systems. By generating synthetic data using Pangoline, we can create a large-scale dataset with perfect ground truth annotations.

Source Data

Data Collection and Processing

1. Text Source: The Yiddish Translation of the TaNaKh by Yehoyesh Shloyme Blumgarten, Yiddish New Testament, https://github.com/New-Languages-for-NLP/yiddish
2. Synthetic Generation: Custom Pangoline implementation generated document images
3. Layout Annotation: ALTO-XML annotations were automatically generated during synthesis
4. Quality Control: Images were processed and optimized for training purposes
5. Dataset Assembly: Files were organized and split using the create_hf_dataset.py script

Who are the source data producers?

• Custom Pangoline: Generated synthetic document images and layout annotations
• Dataset Creator: John Locke Jr. - assembled and curated the final dataset

Annotations

Annotation process

The annotations were automatically generated during the synthetic document creation process:

1. Text Extraction: Ground truth text was extracted from source documents
2. Layout Detection: Pangoline generated precise layout information
3. ALTO-XML Generation: Layout data was formatted according to ALTO v4.3 standard
4. Coordinate Scaling: Coordinates were adjusted for optimal training

Annotation Format

The dataset uses ALTO-XML (Analyzed Layout and Text Object) format, which includes:

• Page-level metadata: Dimensions, language, measurement units
• Text blocks: Hierarchical organization of text content
• Text lines: Individual line-level annotations
• Coordinate information: Precise bounding boxes and baselines
• Content strings: Actual text content for each element

Bias, Risks, and Limitations

Potential Biases

• Font Bias: Synthetic generation may favor certain font styles or rendering approaches
• Layout Patterns: Generated layouts may not fully represent the diversity of real Yiddish documents
• Text Content: The Yiddish Translation of the TaNaKh by Yehoyesh Shloyme Blumgarten, Yiddish New Testament, https://github.com/New-Languages-for-NLP/yiddish

Risks and Limitations

• Synthetic Nature: Models trained on this data may not generalize perfectly to real-world documents
• Domain Specificity: Performance may vary across different document types and styles
• Language Coverage: Focuses specifically on Yiddish text recognition

Recommendations

• Validation: Always validate model performance on real Yiddish documents
• Data Augmentation: Consider combining with real document data when available
• Cross-Domain Testing: Test models across different document types and sources
• Regular Updates: Consider periodic updates with new synthetic data

Citation

If you use this dataset, please cite it as follows:

@dataset{yiddish_synthetic_pangoline_2025,
  title={Yiddish Synthetic Pangoline Dataset},
  author={John Locke Jr.},
  year={2025},
  url={https://huggingface.co/datasets/johnlockejrr/yid_synth_pangoline},
  note={Synthetic Yiddish document dataset generated using custom Pangoline implementation}
}

Glossary

• ALTO-XML: Analyzed Layout and Text Object XML format for describing document layout and content
• Pangoline: Text-to-image synthesis tool for generating document images
• OCR: Optical Character Recognition - technology for converting images of text into machine-readable text
• Synthetic Data: Artificially generated data used for training machine learning models

More Information

Technical Details

• Image Resolution: Optimized for OCR training (typically 1060x1500 pixels)
• Text Encoding: UTF-8 with proper Yiddish character support
• Coordinate System: Pixel-based coordinates in ALTO-XML format
• File Organization: Each sample consists of three files with matching basenames

Usage Examples

from datasets import load_dataset

# Load the dataset
dataset = load_dataset("johnlockejrr/yid_synth_pangoline")

# Access training data
train_data = dataset["train"]
print(f"Training samples: {len(train_data)}")

# Example usage
sample = train_data[0]
image = sample["image"]
text = sample["text"]
xml = sample["xml"]

Related Work

This dataset builds upon research in:

• Synthetic data generation for OCR
• Yiddish text processing and recognition
• Document layout analysis
• Multilingual OCR systems

Dataset Card Authors

• John Locke Jr. - Dataset creator and curator

Dataset Card Contact

• Repository: https://huggingface.co/datasets/johnlockejrr/yid_synth_pangoline
• Issues: Please report any issues or questions through the Hugging Face dataset repository

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This dataset card was created to provide comprehensive information about the Yiddish Synthetic Pangoline Dataset. For questions or contributions, please refer to the dataset repository.