System and methods for cost-effective bilingual texting

• US 8,473,280 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: King Abdul AZIZ City For Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: King Abdul AZIZ City For Science and Technology
• Inventors: Al-Omari, Hussein K., Khorsheed, Mohammad S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Paras D
• Application Number:
  US12/852,449
• Publication Number:
  US 20120034939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10, 715256-264, 455/466
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/129 Handling non-Latin characters, e.g. kana-to-kanji conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation

Abstract

A method for facilitating texting in a non-Latin-based language includes storing mapping between a non-Latin-based language and a Latin-based language in a computer storage. The characters in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a first group of characters in the Latin-based language. The diacritics in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a second group of characters in the Latin-based language. The characters in the non-Latin-based language in a texting message are converted into in the coded text comprising characters in the Latin-based language according to the mapping. The texting message having the coded text is transmitted from a first communication device to a second communication device. The characters of the Latin-based language in the coded text are converted back into the characters in the non-Latin-based language according to the mapping to allow a user to read the text message in the non-Latin-based language on the second communication device.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating texting in a non-Latin-based language, comprising:

storing mapping between a non-Latin-based language and a Latin-based language in a computer storage, wherein the characters in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a first group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the diacritics in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a second group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the mapping defines one or more special characters in the Latin-based language as separator markers to indicate beginning and end of text in the non-Latin-based language in the text message;

in a texting message comprising a first portion in the non-Latin-based language and a second portion in the Latin-based language, searching for the one or more special characters in the second portion;

if the one or more special characters are found in the second portion of the texting message, converting the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language into one or more intermediate characters;

converting characters in the non-Latin-based language in the first portion of the texting message into a coded text comprising characters in the Latin-based language according to the mapping stored on the computer storage;

inserting the separator markers at beginning and end of the coded text;

transmitting the texting message comprising the first portion having the coded text and the second portion from a first communication device to a second communication device; and

converting the characters of the Latin-based language in the coded text back into the characters in the non-Latin-based language according to the mapping to allow a user to read the text message in the non-Latin-based language on the second communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping defines that the punctuations in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to punctuations in the Latin-based language.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping defines that Arabic numerals in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to Arabic numerals in the Latin-based language.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing the separator markers in the transmitted text message; and

converting the one or more intermediate characters in the transmitted text message back to the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inserting a first separator marker at the beginning of the coded text; and

inserting a second separator marker at the end of the coded text.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-Latin-based language comprises Arabic, Urdu, or Farsi.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-Latin-based language comprises 29 Arabic characters and their associated variation forms.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the Latin-based language comprises English or French.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the Latin-based language comprises N pairs of upper case characters and lower case characters, wherein N is a positive integer, wherein the non-Latin-based language comprising M characters, wherein M is a positive integer smaller than 2N.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first group of characters in the Latin-based language comprise upper case characters and lower case characters.

11. A method for facilitating texting in a non-Latin-based language, comprising:

storing mapping between a non-Latin-based language and a Latin-based language in a computer storage, wherein the characters in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a first group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the diacritics in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a second group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the mapping defines one or more special characters in the Latin-based language as separator markers to indicate beginning and end of text in the non-Latin-based language in the text message, wherein the non-Latin-based language includes Arabic, Urdu, or Farsi, wherein the Latin-based language that includes English or French;

in a texting message comprising a first portion in the non-Latin-based language and a second portion in the Latin-based language, searching for the one or more special characters in the second portion;

if the one or more special characters are found in the second portion of the texting message, converting the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language into one or more intermediate characters;

converting characters in the non-Latin-based language in the first portion of the texting message into a coded text comprising characters in the Latin-based language according to the mapping stored on the computer storage;

inserting the separator markers at beginning and end of the coded text;

transmitting the texting message comprising the first portion having the coded text and the second portion from a first communication device to a second communication device; and

converting the characters of the Latin-based language in the coded text back into the characters in the non-Latin-based language according to the mapping to allow a user to read the text message at least partially in the non-Latin-based language on the second communication device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

removing the separator markers in the transmitted text message; and

converting the one or more intermediate characters in the transmitted text message back to the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

inserting a first separator marker at the beginning of the coded text; and

inserting a second separator marker at the end of the coded text.

14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer useable medium having computer readable program code functions embedded in said medium for causing a computer to:

store mapping between the non-Latin-based language and the Latin-based language in a computer storage, wherein characters in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a first group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the diacritics in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to a second group of characters in the Latin-based language, wherein the mapping defines one or more special characters in the Latin-based language as separator markers to indicate beginning and end of text in the non-Latin-based language in the text message;

in a texting message comprising a first portion in the non-Latin-based language and a second portion in the Latin-based language, search for the one or more special characters in the second portion;

if the one or more special characters are found in the second portion of the texting message, convert the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language into one or more intermediate characters;

convert characters in the non-Latin-based language in the first portion of the texting message into a coded text comprising characters in the Latin-based language according to the mapping stored on the computer storage;

insert the separator markers at beginning and end of the coded text; and

transmitting the texting message comprising the first portion having the coded text and the second portion from a first communication device to a second communication device, wherein the characters of the Latin-based language in the coded text are to be converted back into the characters in the non-Latin-based language according to the mapping to allow a user to read the text message in the non-Latin-based language on the second communication device.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the mapping defines that the punctuations in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to punctuations in the Latin-based language.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the mapping defines that Arabic numerals in the non-Latin-based language are mapped to Arabic numerals in the Latin-based language.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code functions embedded in said medium is further configured for causing a computer to:

remove the separator markers in the transmitted text message; and

convert the one or more intermediate characters in the transmitted text message back to the one or more special characters in the Latin-based language.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program code functions embedded in said medium is configured to cause the computer to:

insert a first separator marker at the beginning of the coded text; and

insert a second separator marker at the end of the coded text.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the non-Latin-based language comprises Arabic, Urdu, or Farsi.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the Latin-based language comprises English or French.