FLEXIBLE PLURALIZATION OF LOCALIZED TEXT

• US 20140289616A1
• Filed: 03/20/2013
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Downing, Joe, Chitayat, Noam
• Granted Patent: US 9,766,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/256
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation

Abstract

One embodiment provides machine-readable memory encoding a localization resource for a computer system. The resource comprises an array of delimited strings, each string including a range to be compared to a content limiter by the computer system. Associated with the range is text to be presented on a user interface of the computer system if the content limiter is within the range.

Claims

1. On a computer system, a method to retrieve grammatically accurate text from a localization resource, the method comprising:

receiving a content indicator that indicates the content of the text to be retrieved;

receiving a content limiter that imposes a limitation on the content;

selecting from the localization resource a string corresponding to the content indicator, the localization resource comprising an array of strings, each including a range to be compared to the content limiter, and associated with the range, text to be presented on a user interface of the computer system if the content limiter is within the range;

parsing the selected string to find a range that brackets the content limiter; and

retrieving from the string text associated with the found range.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the content indicator is numeric.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the content limiter specifies a number or amount of an item recited in the text, and wherein the range is a numeric range.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the range comprises one of a plurality of ranges of a given string to be compared to the content limiter, wherein the text comprises one of an associated plurality of text segments to be presented on the user interface, and wherein the different text segments of the given string recite the item in different pluralization forms, each form appropriate for its associated numeric range.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the range comprises a single-valued range.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the range includes an upper limit and/or a lower limit.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the range comprises a wildcard character to stand for one or more numeric characters.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the range is represented as a delimited substring of the string.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the delimited substring is adjacent the text.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the delimited substring precedes the text.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the delimited substring is adjacent a token that stands for the text.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the string includes a rangefinder substring and an assignment sub string, wherein the token is adjacent the range in the rangefinder substring and adjacent the text in the assignment substring.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the text on a user interface of the computer system.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising outputting the text to a speech engine of the computer system.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a language indicator that indicates a language preference of a user of the computer system or a location in which the computer system is being used; and

preselecting a series of strings of the array based on the language indicator.

16. A machine-readable memory encoding a localization resource for a computer system, the resource comprising

an array of delimited strings, each string including a range to be compared to a content limiter by the computer system, and associated with the range, text to be presented on a user interface of the computer system if the content limiter is within the range.

17. The medium of claim 16 wherein the array includes text in two or more languages and is non-jagged across the two or more languages.

18. The medium of claim 16 wherein the array includes the range and the text combined into a regular expression.

19. On a computing system, a method for preparing a localization resource, the method comprising:

storing a delimited string that includes a plurality of numeric ranges;

storably embedding in the string an associated plurality of text segments, each text segment to be presented on a user interface of the computer system if a numeric content limiter received in the computer system is within the numeric range associated with that text segment, the content limiter representing a number or amount of an item recited commonly in the plurality of text segments; and

assembling the string into a searchable array of the localization resource.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein storing the delimited string includes embedding in the string different text segments that recite the item in different pluralization forms, each form appropriate for its associated numeric range.