Language translation using a constrained grammar in the form of structured sentences formed according to pre-defined grammar templates
First Claim
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1. A method of translating information from a first language into a second language, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. receiving a sentence in the first language, the sentence conforming to a constrained grammar consisting of a series of predefined grammar templates which allow for provision of language-specific terms and/or modifications required by the nature of a construction rather than its linguistic content; and
b. translating the sentence into the second language by direct substitution of terms in the second language for corresponding terms in the first language.
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Abstract
Natural-language sentences are represented in accordance with a con-strained grammar and vocabulary structured to permit direct substitution of linguistic units in one language for corresponding linguistic units in another language. The vocabulary may be represented in a series of physically or logically distinct databases, each containing entries representing a form class as defined in the grammar. Translation involves direct lookup between the entries of a reference sentence and the corresponding entries in one or more target languages.
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18 Claims
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1. A method of translating information from a first language into a second language, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a sentence in the first language, the sentence conforming to a constrained grammar consisting of a series of predefined grammar templates which allow for provision of language-specific terms and/or modifications required by the nature of a construction rather than its linguistic content; and
b. translating the sentence into the second language by direct substitution of terms in the second language for corresponding terms in the first language. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a. providing reference and target sets of nominal, connector, and descriptor databases in the reference and target languages, each nominal database comprising a series of nominal entries, each connector database comprising a series of connector entries each specifying a relationship between at least two nominal terms, and each descriptor database comprising a series of descriptor entries describing nominal entries, the entries of the reference set of databases corresponding to the entries of the target set of databases, the message containing entries from the reference databases arranged according to rules defining the constrained grammar;
b. addressing the target set of databases with the message entries to retrieve target entries corresponding thereto; and
c. translating the sentence by directly substituting the message entries with the target entries.
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3. The method of claim 2 wherein the connector items show action, being or state of being.
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4. The method of claim 2 wherein the descriptor items describe a quality, quantity, state or type of a nominal entry.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein the translation step comprising substituting terms in the second language for the corresponding terms in the reference language by database lookup.
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6. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined grammar templates comprise the sentence structures set forth in Table 5.
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7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
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a. maintaining, for each predefined grammar template, a set of translation rules for the first and second languages;
b. converting the received sentence into an internal structure in accordance with rules specific to the first language; and
c. following the translation step, converting the translated sentence out of the internal structure in accordance with rules specific to the second language.
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8. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined grammar templates are defined in terms of grammatical units comprising nominal terms, nominal constructions, descriptors and connectors.
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9. The method of claim 8 wherein the allowed sentence structures are further specified by categories comprising tense, tone, and mood.
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10. Apparatus for translating information from a first language into a second language, the apparatus comprising:
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a. a buffer for receiving a sentence in the first language, the sentence conforming to a constrained grammar comprising a series of predefined grammar templates; and
b. a processor for translating the sentence into the second language by direct substitution of terms in the second language for corresponding terms in the first language. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification