Interactive foreign language translating method and apparatus

• US 4,730,270 A
• Filed: 07/19/1985
• Issued: 03/08/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Okamoto, Eri, Okajima, Atsushi, Yamano, Fumiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/756,708
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/300, 364/419
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/211 Syntactic parsing, e.g. based on context-free grammar [CFG] or unification grammars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/47 Machine-assisted translation, e.g. using translation memory
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/06 Foreign languages with audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04

Abstract

A machine translation system for mechanically translating a first language into a second language which displays series of questions in the first language on a display screen of a display device. A user sequentially answers the questions for the translation system mainly in the first language. The translation system parses portions of the source sentence information answered by the user, and retrieves a dictionary film in the system on the basis of the results of parsing to make a composition in the second language. The user'"'"'s answers may contain the second language. The interaction between the user and the translation system allows an original text in the first language to be composed and translated in the second language in the translation system.

Claims

1. An interactive foreign language translating method performed by a machine translation apparatus which includes a central processing unit for performing translation processing, input means coupled to said central processing unit, output means coupled to said central processing unit and said input means, a main memory coupled to said central processing unit, a dictionary file coupled to said central processing unit, and a field classified pattern file coupled to said central processing unit, said method comprising the steps:

asking a user, by said central processing unit, a series of questions in a first language read out from said field classified pattern file;

collecting, by said central processing unit, in said main memory, source sentence information answers by the user from said input means to said questions in the first language;

parsing, by said central processing unit, the source sentence information collected in said main memory; and

making, by said central processing unit, a composition in a second language on a basis of results of the parsing by utilizing said dictionary file.

2. An interactive foregin language translating method according to claim 1 wherein said questions and the answers thereto are performed in an interactive manner.

3. An interactive foreign language translating method according to claim 1, wherein said questions in said asking step and the composition in said composition making step are outputted to an output device.

4. An interactive foreign language translating method according to claim 3, wherein said output means is a display device having a display screen for displaying said series of questions in said asking step and the composition in said composition making step.

5. An interactive foreign language translating method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

collecting amendment information input by the user as a result of checking the composition output to said output means; and

performing a parsing on the basis of said amendment information again to amend said composition.

6. An interactive foreign language translating method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of outputting a number of words.

7. An interactive foreign language translating method according to claim 1, wherein said answers may contain the second language as well as the first language.

8. An interactive foreign language machine translation apparatus having a dictionary file in which a first language and a second language are referred to each other, comprising:

a first memory area for storing a series of questions in the first language;

output means for outputting the series of questions stored in the first memory area;

input means, coupled to said output means, for inputting answers made by a user to said series of questions, in the first language;

a second memory area for storing source sentence information answered by the user; and

means, coupled to said dictionary file said first memory area, said output means, said input means and said second memory area, for parsing the source sentence information stored in the second memory area and retrieving said dictionary file on a basis of results of parsing to make a composition in the second language to be outputted to said output means.

9. An interactive foreign language machine translation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said output means is a display device having a display screen for displaying said series of questions and the composition.

10. An interactive foreign language machine translation apparatus having a dictionary file in which a first language and a second language are referred to each other, comprising:

a first memory area for storing a series of questions in the first language;

output means for outputting the series of questions stored in the first memory area;

input means, coupled to said output means, for inputting answers made by a user to said series of questions, in the first language;

a second memory area for storing source sentence information answered by the user; and

means, coupled to said dictionary file said first memory area, said output means, said input means and said second memory area, for parsing the source sentence information stored in the second memory area, and retrieving said dictionary file on a basis of results of parsing to make a composition in the second language to be outputted to said output means, said parsing means further collecting amendment information inputted by the user through said input means as a result of checking the composition output to said output means, whereby said parsing means can perform a parsing again on a basis of said amendment information.