Language processing apparatus for carrying out translation process based on sentence pattern information

• US 5,371,674 A
• Filed: 10/22/1992
• Issued: 12/06/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Obuchi, Yasuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Gail O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tkacs, Stephen R.
• Application Number:
  US07/964,911
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419, 364/419.02, 364/419.05, 364/419.07, 434/156
• US Class Current: 704/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/55 Rule-based translation

Abstract

When a term of a portion of a sentence in a first language to be translated is entered, a term in a second language corresponding to the term is displayed, and information of a sentence pattern and the like for constructing a sentence based on the entered term is displayed in the first language. When a term appropriate to the portion of the displayed information is entered in the first language, a portion of the information is converted into the second language satisfying grammatical restriction to be displayed. A similar process is carried out for the remaining portions of the information.

Claims

1. A language processing apparatus comprising:

input means for entering a term which is a portion of a sentence in a first language,

first memory means for storing the term in said first language and storing a second language equivalent to said term,

second memory means for storing declinable terms comprising verbs or adjectives in said first language and for further storing information comprising sentence patterns based on said declinable terms,

translation processing means responsive to said input means for determining whether an entered term is a declinable term,

display means responsive to said translation processing means for displaying character patterns, and

said translation processing means including control means for controlling said display means whereby in response to the determination that an entered term is a declinable term, the display means displays character patterns including the entered definable term, the second language equivalent to the declinable term and a sentence pattern based on the entered declinable term for constructing a sentence in said second language based on the declinable term whereby the displayed sentence pattern includes words in both the first and second languages and information pertaining to an indispensable case.

2. A language processing apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

conversion means responsive to said translation processing means, the first memory means and said input means for converting a non-declinable entered term related to a portion of said displayed sentence pattern into a further character pattern in said second language corresponding to said entered non-definable term, and

said control means responsive to said input means and said conversion means further controlling said display means to display said character patterns including the further character pattern.

3. The language processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means determines a grammatical feature of said converted term and controls said display means to display said information using proper grammar based on said feature.

4. A language processing method in a language converting apparatus including input means for entering a term in a first language, converting means for converting said entered term into a second language equivalent term, said second language being different from said first language, storing means for storing information comprising sentence patterns based on declinable word portions of a sentence, and display means for displaying simultaneously said entered term and said converted equivalent term, said method comprising the steps of:

determining whether said entered term is a declinable word portion of a sentence, and when said entered term is a declinable word portion of a sentence,

displaying said entered term in the first language along with said second language equivalent term corresponding to said entered declinable word portion of a sentence, further displaying information comprising a sentence pattern in said first language for constructing a sentence in said second language based on said entered declinable word portion of a sentence so that a stored sentence pattern based on said entered declinable word portion of a sentence is displayed which includes words in both said first and said second languages and further displaying information in said second language pertaining to an indispensable case included in the displayed sentence pattern associated with the entered declinable word.

5. The language processing method according to claim 4, wherein said displayed information of the indispensable case is divided into sentence elements, whereby a term of said first language entered for each of said divided sentence elements is converted to an equivalent term in said second language corresponding to each sentence element.

6. The language processing method according to claim 5, wherein

when a term of said first language corresponding to said divided sentence elements is entered, said displayed equivalent term in said second language is corrected to satisfy second language grammatical restrictions when there is a grammatical influence on said term by a previously entered and converted term.

7. The language processing method according to claim 5, wherein

when a modifier is entered by said input means corresponding to a previously entered sentence element, the displayed term in said second language is corrected to satisfy grammatical restrictions on said entered modifier and the previously entered sentence element.

8. The language processing method according to claim 4, wherein

when an instruction for conversion of the tense is specified with respect to a displayed term of said second language, conversion in said second language corresponding to said specified instruction is carried out.