SOUNDEX

Returns a 4 character code representing the sound of the words in the argument. The results can be used to compare with the sound of other strings. The argument can be any string, except BLOB. The result is a CHAR(4). You can compare strings directly or pass the strings as arguments to the DIFFERENCE function.

Example:

Using the EMPLOYEE table, find the EMPNO and LASTNAME of the employee with a surname that sounds like 'Loucesy'.

  SELECT EMPNO, LASTNAME
         FROM EMPLOYEE
         WHERE SOUNDEX(LASTNAME) = SOUNDEX('Loucesy')

Returns row: 000110 LUCCHESSI