Method of generating a transliteration font

• US 8,438,008 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2010
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Inventors: Awaida, Sameh, Al-Muhtaseb, Husni
• Primary Examiner(s): PULLIAS, JESSE SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US12/849,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20120035910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 704 2- 8
• US Class Current: 704/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/129 Handling non-Latin characters, e.g. kana-to-kanji conversion

Abstract

The method of generating a transliteration font allows for the generation and display of a word in a transliteration font, the word including at least one character displayed in an alphabet of a first language, and the transliteration font including at least one embedded character representing a phonetic pronunciation of the word in an alphabet of a second language.

Claims

1. A computerized method of generating a transliteration font, comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a transliteration database including at least first and second data sets, the first data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a first language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language, the second data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a second language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the second language;

(b) storing the transliteration database in computer readable memory;

(c) inputting a word in the first language, the word including at least one of the characters of the alphabet associated with the first language;

(d) storing the word in the first language in the computer readable memory;

(e) generating a phonetic representation of the word in the first language, the phonetic representation including the phonetic data representing the phonetic pronunciation of each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language associated with the word;

(f) comparing the phonetic representation of the word in the first language with corresponding phonetic data of the second language to generate a phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the alphabet of the second language;

(g) visually displaying the word in the first language;

(h) embedding a visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the second language directly adjacent each respective displayed character in the first language to form a representation of the word in a transliteration font, wherein the visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters is embedded within a visual field of each respective displayed character in the first language and within a visual field of the word;

(i) storing the representation of the word in the transliteration font in the computer readable memory; and

(j) displaying the word in the transliteration font.

2. The computerized method of generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 1, wherein the transliteration database includes a number of data sets greater than two, the computerized method of generating a transliteration font further comprising the steps of:

selecting a language to be transliterated;

setting the selected language to be transliterated as the first language;

selecting a language for phonetic representation; and

setting the selected language for phonetic representation as the second language.

3. The computerized method of generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 1, wherein the embedded visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each said character of the word in the second language has a font size smaller than a font size of the displayed word in the first language.

4. The computerized method of generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 3, wherein the embedded visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each said character of the word in the second language is positioned above the corresponding character in the first language.

5. The computerized method of generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 1, wherein the first language is Arabic.

6. The computerized method of generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 5, wherein the second language is English.

7. A system for generating a transliteration font, comprising:

a processor;

computer readable memory coupled to the processor;

a user interface coupled to the processor;

software stored in the computer readable memory and executable by the processor, the software having;

means for generating a transliteration database including at least first and second data sets, said first data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a first language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language, said second data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a second language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the second language;

means for storing the transliteration database in the computer readable memory;

means for inputting a word in the first language, the word including at least one of the characters of the alphabet associated with the first language;

means for storing the word in the first language in the computer readable memory;

means for generating a phonetic representation of the word in the first language, the phonetic representation including the phonetic data representing the phonetic pronunciation of each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language associated with the word;

means for comparing the phonetic representation of the word in the first language with corresponding phonetic data of the second language to generate a phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the alphabet of the second language;

means for visually displaying the word in the first language;

means for embedding a visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the second language directly adjacent each respective displayed character in the first language to form a representation of the word in a transliteration font, wherein the visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters is embedded within a visual field of each respective displayed character in the first language and within a visual field of the word;

means for storing the representation of the word in the transliteration font in the computer readable memory; and

means for displaying the word in the transliteration font.

8. The system for generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 7, wherein the transliteration database includes a number of data sets greater than two, the software stored in the computer readable memory and executable by the processor further having:

means for selecting a language to be transliterated;

means for setting the selected language to be transliterated as the first language;

means for selecting a language for phonetic representation; and

means for setting the selected language for phonetic representation as the second language.

9. The system for generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 7, wherein the embedded visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each said character of the word in the second language has a font size smaller than a font size of the displayed word in the first language.

10. The system for generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 9, wherein the embedded visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each said character of the word in the second language is positioned above the corresponding character in the first language.

11. The system for generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 7, wherein the first language is Arabic.

12. The system for generating a transliteration font as recited in claim 11, wherein the second language is English.

13. A computer software product that includes a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processor, the non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for generating a transliteration font, the instructions comprising:

(a) a first sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to generate a transliteration database including at least first and second data sets, said first data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a first language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language, said second data set including graphic representations of characters of an alphabet of a second language and phonetic data representing phonetic pronunciations associated with each of the characters of the alphabet of the second language;

(b) a second sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to store the transliteration database in computer readable memory;

(c) a third sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to accept input of a word in the first language, the word including at least one of the characters of the alphabet associated with the first language;

(d) a fourth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to store the word in the first language in the computer readable memory;

(e) a fifth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to generate a phonetic representation of the word in the first language, the phonetic representation including the phonetic data representing the phonetic pronunciation of each of the characters of the alphabet of the first language associated with the word;

(f) a sixth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to compare the phonetic representation of the word in the first language with corresponding phonetic data of the second language to generate a phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the alphabet of the second language;

(g) a seventh sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to visually display the word in the first language;

(h) an eighth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to embed a visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters of the word in the second language directly adjacent each respective displayed character in the first language to form a representation of the word in a transliteration font, wherein the visual representation of the phonetic equivalent of each of the characters is embedded within a visual field of each respective displayed character in the first language and within a visual field of the word;

(i) a ninth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to store the representation of the word in the transliteration font in the computer readable memory; and

(j) a tenth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to display the word in the transliteration font.

14. The computer software product as recited in claim 13, wherein the first language is Arabic.

15. The computer software product as recited in claim 14, wherein the second language is English.