Method for automated translation of conjunctive phrases in natural languages

• US 5,983,169 A
• Filed: 11/13/1995
• Issued: 11/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Japan Science And Technology Corpration (Japan Science And Technology Agency)
• Original Assignee: Japan Science And Technology Corpration (Japan Science And Technology Agency)
• Inventors: Kozma, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Weinhardt, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US08/555,931
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• Field of Search: 395/752, 395/754, 395/755, 395/759, 704/2, 704/4, 704/5, 704/9
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/55 Rule-based translation

Abstract

A system for translating ambiguous expressions from one natural language to another is described. Electronic processing means are used in conjunction with stored grammatical rules to determine multiple parse structures for expressions in the input language and to create corresponding structures for candidate expressions in the output language. In one version of the invention, the possible structures for each candidate output expression are compared with those of the corresponding input expression to determine whether there is an output expression with a set of possible interpretations that matches that of the input expression.

Claims

1. In a machine translation system including electronic means for storing predetermined input grammar rules manifesting a grammatical model for an input language and predetermined output grammar rules manifesting a grammatical model for an output language and further electronic means for processing expressions in the input language in accordance with the input grammar rules and generating corresponding expressions in the output language in accordance with the output grammar rules, said grammatical models including designations for conjunctions, noun phrases, and phrases that can modify noun phrases, both the input and output languages allowing conjunctive noun phrases to be formed from two or more conjunct noun phrases, wherein the relative order of the conjunct noun phrases may be reversed without changing the meaning of the conjunctive noun phrase in either the input language or the output language, and the both the input and output languages allowing modified noun phrases to be formed from an unmodified noun phrase and a modifying noun phrase, wherein the relative order of the unmodified noun phrase and the modifying noun phrase in the input language is reversed in the output language, said system operating by generating possible parse structures for input expressions in the input language in accordance with the input grammar rules and applying transfer rules to said parse structures to generate transferred parse structures, and generating expressions in the output language from the transferred parse structures, an improved method for translating conjunctive noun phrases, said method comprising:

identifying each input expressions for which more than one possible parse structure is initially generated and (i) one of the possible parse structures for said input expression indicates that said input expression is a conjunctive noun phrase in which one of the conjunct noun phrases comprises a modified noun phrase and a modifying noun phrase and (ii) another one of the possible parse structures indicates that said input expression is a modified noun phrase comprising an unmodified noun phrase and a modifying noun phrase in which either the unmodified noun phrase or the modifying noun phrase is a conjunctive noun phrase;

transforming the input expression parse structures for the identified input expressions into alternate structures with like meaning by reversing the order of the conjuncts; and

generating output expressions from the alternate structures instead of from the initially generated parse structures;

whereby said output expressions preserve the ambiguity in the corresponding input expressions manifested by the multiple initially generated parse structures.