Apparatus for correcting misspelling and incorrect usage of word

• US 5,812,863 A
• Filed: 09/26/1994
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Jankus, Almis R.
• Application Number:
  US08/312,417
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419.01-419.18, 395/145, 395/146, 395/792-798
• US Class Current: 715/257
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/253 Grammatical analysis; Style critique

Abstract

The apparatus for correcting the misspelling and incorrect usage of a word according to the present invention enables, when a document is prepared, the proper correction of the misspelling and incorrect usage of a word which are frequently produced by the operator who is a non-native speaker of the language used in the document or a child. The present invention has been achieved in consideration of mistakes resulting from the difference between the language used in the document and the mother tongue of the operator. Specific examples of the causes of such mistakes are the difficulty the operator has in recognizing a specific sound, the characteristics of a noun and a verb which do not exist in the mother tongue of the operator, different sounds used to pronounce a phonogram depending on the language in which it is used, the existence of a dialect and a slang, the existence of a loan word, the inconsistent relationship between the sound used to pronounce a phonogram and the representation of the phonogram, the existence of an ideogram which is similar to but slightly different from another ideogram in configuration and which has different meanings depending on the language in which it is used.

Claims

1. A mistaken word correcting apparatus for correcting a misspelling and an incorrect usage of a word used in a document, said apparatus comprising:

input means for receiving a user input of a word;

storage means for storing the word inputted into this input means;

display means for displaying the word stored in the storage means;

an incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary for storing words which are coupled with usage information for each word, the usage information being made up of an indication showing that the word is any of a formal word, a standard word, a vulgar word, a colloquialism, an archaism, a rare word, or a poetic word, or a combination of such types of word;

usage indication operation means for receiving a user indication of a usage for the word stored in the storage means;

mistaken word detecting means for reading a word from the word stored in the storage means, and for detecting whether the read word is stored in the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary;

usage determining means for determining, when the mistaken word detecting means detects that the read word is stored in the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary, whether the usage received by the usage indication operation means coincides with a usage in the usage information in the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary which is stored for the read word;

candidate word generation means for comparing, when the mistaken word detecting means does not detect that the read word is stored in the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary, or when the usage determining means determines that the usage received by the usage indication operation does not coincide with the usage in the usage information, the word read by the mistaken word detecting means with all the words stored in the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary, and for generating at least one candidate word whose spelling resembles the read word and whose usage in the usage information coincides with the usage received by the usage indication operation means;

candidate word display control means for having the candidate words generated by the candidate word generation means displayed together with the read word on the display means;

candidate word indication operation means for receiving a user indication of one of candidate words displayed by the display means; and

word replacement means for replacing the word in the storage means which was read by the mistaken word detecting means with the candidate word indicated by the candidate word indication operation means.

2. The mistaken word correcting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising user dictionary registration means for registering the word read by the mistaken word detecting means, in accordance with a user indication, wherein the candidate word indication operation means receives a registration indication from the user, which has the user dictionary registration means register the read word.

3. The mistaken word correcting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising usage display control means for reading, when the usage determining means determines that the usage received by the usage indication operation means does not coincide with the usage in the usage information, the usage information of the read word from the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary and for having the read usage displayed by the display means together with the read word.

4. The mistaken word correcting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary additionally stores an equivalent standard word for each word which is not a standard word, and the candidate word display control means has the equivalent standard word displayed together with the candidate word.

5. The mistaken word correcting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incorrect spelling/usage detection dictionary additionally stores a synonym corresponding to each usage of each word, and the candidate word display control means has the synonym displayed together with the candidate words.

6. A document processor for verifying the proper word and usage of the word being input by an operator on an input means, including a storing means for storing the inputted words and a display means for displaying the inputted words, comprising:

dictionary memory means for storing a dictionary of words, including a combination of a correct spelling of a word and a common variant spelling of the word based on one of a language gender, a transposing of letters due to the operator'"'"'s use of a foreign language and a singular and plural form of the inputted word;

usage setting means for specifying the usage of an inputted word;

incorrect-usage detecting means for determining from the usage setting means and the dictionary memory means whether the inputted word is a candidate for verification;

means for displaying the inputted word with a proposed alternative variant word; and

means for selecting one of the inputted word and the alternative variant word for storage as the verified proper word.

7. The document processor of claim 6 further including means for displaying language gender words in different colors representative of masculine, feminine, and neuter gender.