Electronic language translator capable of modifying definite articles or prepositions to correspond to modified related words

• US 4,633,435 A
• Filed: 07/22/1985
• Issued: 12/30/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1980
• 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: Morimoto, Masafumi, Yanagiuchi, Shigenobu, Noda, Michihiro, Yanagiuchi, Yasuko
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS JR, ARCHIE E
• Application Number:
  US06/757,206
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/419
• US Class Current: 704/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/268 Morphological analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/45 Example-based machine translation; Alignment
• 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

Abstract

An electronic translator is featured in which sentences as stored are modified by replacing one or more words in one of the original sentences with one or more new words and by changing automatically one or more additional words in the original sentence, depending on the nature of the one or more new words entered in the sentence. For example, the one or more additional words may be definite articles or prepositions.

Claims

1. In an electronic language translator of the type in which a plurality of first sentences in a first language are stored in a first sentence memory area in a first language memory means, at least a portion of the first sentences having first selected words therein replaceable by first replacement words stored in a first word memory area in the first language memory means, the first replacement words being retrieved by an access means connected to the first language memory means to form first new sentences, the plurality of first sentences further having first related words that are grammatically associated with the first selected words and wherein a like plurality of equivalent translated second sentences having second selected words and second related words, and second replacement words in a second language are stored in a second sentence memory area and a second word memory area in the second language memory means respectively, from which a like plurality of translated second new sentences in the second language that are equivalent to the first new sentences in the first language, are accessed from the second language memory means, the second new sentences being retrieved and outputted by a second access means, wherein the improvement comprises:

the first and second language memory means each further storing coded information relating to the respective replacement words and a grammatical association between the related words and the respective replacement words in the first and second new sentences retrieved by the first and second access means from the respective language memory means,

first means, responsive to the coded information in the first language memory means, for automatically changing the related words in a sentence when a first selected word is replaced by a first replacement word, the related words being changed in accordance with their grammatical association to the respective replacement words to produce a new sentence in which the grammatical association of the replacement words and the related words is correct in the first language, and

second means, responsive to the coded information in the second language memory means, for automatically changing the related words in a sentence when a second selected word is replaced by a second replacement word, the related words being changed in accordance with their grammatical association to the respective replacement words to produce a new sentence in which the grammatical association of the replacement words and the related words is correct in the second language.

2. An electronic language translator according to claim 1, wherein the first replacement words for replacing the first selected words in the plurality of sentences are related to each other by first discrimination codes and the second replacement words are related to the second selected words by second discrimination codes.

3. An electronic language translator according to claim 2, wherein the first and second discrimination codes are stored in the respective first and second language memory means in association with both the respective ones of the plurality of sentences and the replacement words.

4. An electronic language translator according to claim 3, wherein the first and second discrimination codes distinguish between the selected word stored in a respective one of the plurality of sentences and the replacement words capable of replacing the selected word stored in the respective sentence.

5. An electronic language translator comprising:

first memory means for storing a plurality of first sentences in a first language, said first sentences each including at least one changeable word and at least one related word that is grammatically associated with said changeable word, said first memory means also storing first replacement words in said first language, said first memory means further storing a plurality of first distinction codes related to the at least one changeable word in said first sentences and first discrimination codes associated with the at least one related word, the first discrimination code and distinction codes being related to define the grammatical relationship between the at least one changeable word and the related word grammatically associated with the at least one changeable word;

second memory means for storing a plurality of second sentences corresponding to said first sentences, said second sentences each also comprising at least one second changeable word and at least one second related word that is grammatically associated with said second changeable word, said second memory also storing second replacement words corresponding to respective first replacement words, said second memory means further storing a plurality of second distinction codes related to the at least one second changeable word in the plurality of second sentences and second discrimination codes associated with the at least one second related word, the second discrimination code and distinction codes being related to define the grammatical relationship between the at least one second changeable word and the at least one second related word associated with the changeable words;

selection means for selecting one of said plurality of first sentences to be translated and for changing said changeable word to a selected one of said first replacement words;

means responsive to said input means for retrieving from said second memory a second sentence and a second replacement word corresponding to said input first sentence including said input first replacement word; and

additional means, responsive to the first discrimination and distinction codes, for altering the form of said at least one related word in said selected one of said plurality of first sentences in order to maintain a proper grammatical relationship between the selected one of said first replacement words and the at least one related word, said additional means, also responsive to said second discrimination and distinction codes, for altering the form of the at least one second related word in said retrieved second sentence in order to maintain a proper grammatical relationship between said at least one second related word and said second replacement word.