As I mentioned in a reply to this poll, the inspiration for the question was something to standardize the abbreviations used in a lengthy list of postal addresses, with the possibility of turning it (someday) into a module.

But since I've started to wonder: are there any modules anyone could recommend that actually do what I seem to have originally intended when I started this, to be able to give it an address part (such as an address/street line, or a US state) using a possibly common abbreviation and return one in which the common but not standard abbreviations are replaced?

I'm almost thinking of an example of something like (but with no real interface in mind, so excuse the crude example):

  my %address = 
    ( name => q{Whitehouse.gov}, 
      address => q{1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest}, 
      city => q{Washington}, 
      state_or_province => q{District of Columbia},
      zip => 20500,
    );
  convert(\$address{address}); # 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
  convert(\$address{city}); # No change
  convert(\$address{state_or_province}); # D.C.
[download]

Just curious. Any suggestions appreciated.