Electronic translator with means for pronouncing input words and translated words

• US 4,393,462 A
• Filed: 10/22/1980
• Issued: 07/12/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakanishi, Tosaku, Tanimoto, Akira, Yanagiuchi, Shigenobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Zache, Raulfe B.
• Application Number:
  US06/199,445
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 364/900 MS File, 179/1 SM
• US Class Current: 704/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/08 Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination

Abstract

An electronic translator comprises means for providing pronunciation of an input word or words entered. There are further provided means for providing pronunciation of a translated word or words equivalent to the input word or words. If the input words contain a special word which is pronounced in different ways dependent on the following word, there is additionally provided means for detecting the input of such a special word and for changing the pronunciation of such a special word depending on the following word.

Claims

1. An electronic translator device wherein first words represented in a first language are entered to obtain second words represented in a second language equivalent to the first words, comprising:

input means for entering the first words;

first memory means for storing a plurality of words represented in the first language;

second memory means for storing a plurality of items of verbal information corresponding to the plurality of words stored in said first memory means;

third memory means for storing a plurality of sentences comprised of words stored in said first memory means;

fourth memory means for storing a plurality of items of verbal information related to translated sentences, represented in the second language, corresponding to the plurality of sentences stored in said third memory means;

translation means responsive to entry of the first words by said input means for addressing said first, third and fourth memory means for translating a first sentence comprised of said first words and stored in said third memory means and for retrieving from said fourth memory means verbal information related to a translated sentence corresponding to said first sentence; and

voice synthesizer means for providing an audible output of said verbal information related to the translated sentence and responsive to entry of each of the first words by the input means for addressing said second memory means for retrieving particular verbal information corresponding to each first word entered and for providing an audible output of each first word entered.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said second memory means stores an additional item of verbal information indicating that a first word entered by the input means is not contained within said first memory means.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising translation enabling switch means for activating said translation means.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said input means comprises an alphabetical keyboard containing a plurality of alphabetical key switches.

5. An electronic translator device wherein a first word represented in a first language is entered to obtain a second word represented in a second language equivalent to the first word, comprising:

input means for entering the first word;

first memory means for storing a plurality of words, represented in the first language, including at least one special word which is pronounced differently depending on the word following said special word in a sequence of words;

second memory means for storing a plurality of items of verbal information corresponding to the plurality of words stored in the first memory means;

said first memory means further storing a plurality of items of information each corresponding to respective words in said first memory and representing whether the head letters of the respective words are pronounced with a vowel sound or a consonant sound;

access means responsive to entry of the first words by the input means for addressing said first and second memory means for retrieving a selected item of verbal information corresponding to one of the first words;

first detection means responsive to said input means for detecting the input of the special word included in the first words;

second detection means responsive to the first detection means for addressing said first memory and for detecting the pronunciation of the head letter of the input first word following the special word;

control means responsive to said second detection means for controlling said access means to select verbal information corresponding to the correct one of several pronunciations of the special word; and

voice synthesizer means responsive to said access means and said control means for providing an audible output of the first words including said special word.

6. An electronic translator device wherein a first word represented in a first language is entered to obtain a second word represented in a second language equivalent to the first word, comprising:

input means for entering the first word;

first memory means for storing a plurality of words, represented in the first language, including at least one special word which is pronounced differently depending on the pronunciation of the following word in a sequence of words;

second memory means for storing a plurality of items of verbal information corresponding to the plurality of words stored in the first memory;

access means responsive to input of one of the first words by the input means for addressing said first and second memory means for retrieving a selected item of verbal information corresponding to one of the first words;

first detection means responsive to said input means for detecting the input of the special word included in the first words;

second detection means responsive to said first detection means for detecting the pronunciation of the head letter of the first word following the special word in a sequence of words;

control means responsive to said second detection means for controlling selection of verbal information corresponding to the special word by said access means to change the pronunciation of the special word; and

voice synthesizer means responsive to said access means and said control means for providing audible output of the first words.