Apparatus and methods for multi-lingual user access

• US 6,370,498 B1
• Filed: 06/15/1998
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Maria Ruth Angelica Flores, Sanjay Dabral
• Original Assignee: Maria Ruth Angelica Flores, Sanjay Dabral
• Inventors: Dabral, Sanjay, Flores, Maria Ruth Angelica
• Primary Examiner(s): EDOUARD, PATRICK NESTOR
• Application Number:
  US09/094,886
• Time in Patent Office: 1,394 Days
• Field of Search: 704/1, 704/2-7, 704/8, 707/2, 707/4, 707/6, 707/530, 707/536, 379/52, 379/67, 379/88, 379/88.05, 846/10
• US Class Current: 704/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/45 Example-based machine translation; Alignment

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the multi-lingual creation and retrieval of a work from a database storing multiple texts and/or translations of works in a variety of formats. A user can create and retrieve multiple translations of a work and may choose to have the multiple texts and/or translations presented in different formats. For example, the user may choose to have a document displayed textually in two separate languages, or in text in one language and in audio in a second language.

Claims

1. A processing apparatus comprising:

a database to store a plurality of translated versions of a work in multiple languages in which the translated versions are not literal translations of the work, but are contextual translations to convey contextual meaning of the work across multiple languages; and

an accessing device coupled to said database to retrieve for presentation any two of said plurality of translated versions of the work to allow comparison to be performed between any two selected languages from the multiple languages.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the translated versions of the work are presented as written text, audio recording, graphic imagery or video imagery.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said database is stored on a storage medium and said accessing device is a computer.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 said database is accessible by the computer through a communication link coupled to said storage medium.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication link is a bus, a modem, a network system, or an internet link.

6. The processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of said translated versions of the work are to be presented as audio recordings and wherein each said translated version includes a plurality of selectable audio recordings options, wherein each said audio recording option has a distinct audio style or speed.

7. The processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said presentation includes a random presentation order of portions of said translated versions of the work.

8. A computer comprising:

a database to store a plurality of translated versions of a work in multiple languages in which the translated versions are not literal translations of the work, but are contextual translations to convey contextual meaning of the work across multiple languages; and

a computer program to retrieve for presentation any two of said plurality of translated versions of the work to allow comparison to be performed between any two selected languages from the multiple languages.

9. The computer of claim 8 wherein the translated versions of the work are presented as written text, audio recording, graphic imagery or video imagery.

10. The computer of claim 9 wherein said database is stored on a storage medium and said database is accessed through a communication link coupled to said storage medium.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein at least one of said translated versions of the work are to be presented as audio recordings and wherein each said translated version includes a plurality of selectable audio recordings options, wherein each said audio recording option has a distinct audio style or speed.

12.The method of claim 10 wherein said presentation includes a random presentation order of portions of said translated versions of the work.

12. A method comprising:

providing a database to store a plurality of translated versions of a work in multiple languages in which the translated versions are not literal translations of the work, but are contextual translations to convey contextual meaning of the work across multiple languages; and

retrieving from the database for presentation any two of said plurality of translated versions of the work to allow comparison to be performed between any two selected languages from the multiple languages.

13. The method of claim 13 further comprising storing the database on a storage medium located at a remote location.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said retrieving for presentation includes retrieving written text for the translated versions.

15. The method of claim 13 in which said retrieving for presentation includes retrieving translated versions having written text, audio recording, graphic imagery or video imagery.

16. A machine readable medium having resident thereon a set of program instructions to provide a plurality of translated versions of a work, the program instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform comprising:

accessing a database having stored therein translated versions of a work in multiple languages in which the translated versions are not literal translations of the work, but are contextual translations to convey contextual meaning of the work across multiple languages;

retrieving from the database for presentation any two of said plurality of translated versions of the work to allow comparison to be performed between any two selected languages from the multiple languages.

17. The machine readable medium of claim 17 wherein said accessing the database accesses it on a storage medium located at a remote location.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 17 wherein said retrieving for presentation includes retrieving written text for the translated versions.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 17 in which said retrieving for presentation includes retrieving translated versions having written text, audio recording, graphic imagery or video imagery.