Machine translation device, method of processing data, and program

• US 20050010421A1
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Published: 01/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hideo, Kanayama, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,002,695 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/55 Rule-based translation

Abstract

Provided are two types of translation engines. One of the translation engines translates a text written in a source language X into an intermediate language C, and the other translates the intermediate language C into a target language Y. The X-C translation engine translates an original text written in the source language X into a text in a predetermined intermediate language C as well as acquires and adds annotations obtained by this translation to the translated text written in the intermediate language C. The C-Y translation engine references annotations, which are obtained by the X-C translation engine and added to the text in the intermediate language C, and translates the text in the intermediate language into a text in the target language Y sentence.

Claims

1. A machine translation device comprising:

a first translation engine for translating an original text written in a source language into a text in an intermediate language, and for acquiring and adding annotations obtained by the translation to the translated text in the intermediate language; and

a second translation engine for translating the text in the intermediate language into a text in a target language by referencing the annotations added to the text in the intermediate language.

2. The machine translation device according to claim 1, wherein the second translation engine translates using a dictionary for the source language to the target language based on the annotations, in addition to a dictionary for the intermediate language to the target language.

3. The machine translation device according to claim 1, wherein the second translation engine outputs both a translation made based on the annotations and a translation made without using the annotations as translation results.

4. The machine translation device according to claim 1, wherein the first translation engine writes the text in the intermediate language in a document file of a predetermined markup language and writes the annotations in the document file as commands for the markup language.

5. The machine translation device according to claim 1, further comprising a translation result modification unit for outputting translation results made by the second translation engine, accepting a processing for the outputted translation results from a user, and reflecting the processing in the translation results.

6. The machine translation device according to claim 1, wherein said first translation engine comprises a plurality of first translation engines which correspond to a plurality of the source languages.

7. The machine translation device according to claim 1, wherein said second translation engine comprises a plurality of second translation engines which correspond to a plurality of the target languages.

8. A machine translation device which translates a text written in a first language into a text in a second language, the machine translation device comprising:

a parse unit which parses the text written in the first language;

a syntactic transfer unit which translates syntax of the text written in the first language into syntax of the second language by using a dictionary from a third language to the second language based on annotations added to the text written in the first language, in addition to a dictionary for the first language to the second language; and

a text generation unit which generates the text in the second language based on processing results of the syntactic transfer unit.

9. A computer method for processing data to translate an original text written in a source language into a text in a target language, the method comprising the steps of:

first translating the original text into a first translated text in a predetermined intermediate language, acquiring and adding annotations obtained by the translation to the first translated text in the intermediate language, and storing the first translated text in the intermediate language in a predetermined storage means; and

second translating the first translated text in the intermediate language stored in the predetermined storage means into the second translated text in the target language by referencing the annotations added to the text in the intermediate language, and outputting the second translated text as translation results in the target language.

10. The method of processing data according to claim 9, wherein the second translation step includes a step of translating by using a dictionary for the source language to the target language based on the annotations, in addition to a dictionary for the intermediate language to the target language.

11. The method of processing data according to claim 9, wherein the second translating step comprises translating by referencing the annotations to produce annotation translation results and translating without referencing the annotations to produce non-annotation translation, and wherein both translation results are outputted in the second step.

12. A program which controls a computer to translate an original text written in a source language into a text in a target language, the program causing the computer to execute procedures for:

first translating the original text into a first translated text in a predetermined intermediate language, acquiring and adding annotations obtained by the translation to the first translated text in the intermediate language, and storing the first translated text in the intermediate language in a predetermined storage means; and

second translating the first translated text in the intermediate language stored in the predetermined storage means into the second translated text in the target language by referencing the annotations added to the text in the intermediate language, and outputting the second translated text as translation results in the target language.

13. The program according to claim 12, wherein the computer is caused to execute a procedure for translation by using a dictionary for the source language to the target language based on the annotations, in addition to a dictionary for the intermediate language to the target language in the second procedure.

16. A recording medium recording the program according to claim 12 wherein said translating enables the computer to read.

17. A recording medium recording the program according to claim 13 wherein said translating enables the computer to read.

14. A program which controls a computer to translate an original text written in a source language into a text in a target language, the program causes the computer to function as:

first translation means for translating the original text written in the source language into a text in a predetermined intermediate language, writing the text in the intermediate language in a document file of a predetermined markup language, acquiring annotations obtained by the translation to write in the document file as commands for the markup language, and storing the document file in predetermined storage means; and

second translation means for translating the text in the intermediate language written in the document file stored in the predetermined storing means into the text in the target language by referencing the annotations written in the document file.

15. The program according to claim 14, further causing the computer to function as a plurality of the first translation means which correspond to a plurality of source languages, and a plurality of the second translation means which correspond to a plurality of the target languages.

18. A recording medium recording the program according to claim 14 wherein said translating enables the computer to read.

19. A recording medium recording the program according to claim 15 wherein said translating enables the computer to read.