Translating a search query into multiple languages

• US 9,164,987 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2011
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Chen, Johnny
• Primary Examiner(s): Btit, Jacob F
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLIS, AMANDA LYNN
• Application Number:
  US13/024,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20110137926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 707999003-999007, 707723-735, 707/713, 707/756, 707/708, 707/706
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation

Abstract

A computer-implemented method can include translating a search query from a first language to a second language, comparing the translated query with content in the second language, and identifying content in the second language relevant to the translated query based on the comparing. Also, a computer-implemented method can include translating content in a second language at one or more network locations into a first language, comparing the translated content with a search query written in the first language, and identifying, from the translated content, content relevant to the query based on the comparing.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software instructions executable by data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a search query including content in a first spoken language, the search query relating to a topic based on a subject matter of the content included in the search query;

determining a relevance of the topic of the search query to each potential second spoken language from a set of potential second spoken languages different from the first spoken language;

selecting a subset of potential second spoken languages based on the-relevance of each potential second spoken language to the topic of the search query, the subset having fewer potential second spoken languages than the set of potential second spoken languages in its entirety;

translating content included in one or more network locations in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset into translated content in the first spoken language;

comparing the translated content in the first spoken languages with the content included in the search query in the first spoken language, wherein the translated content in the first spoken language includes translated content that satisfies the search query, the translated content that satisfies the search query being a translation of the content that satisfies the search query in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset into the first spoken language;

identifying from the translated content in the first spoken language, the translated content that satisfies the query based on the comparing; and

providing the translated content that satisfies the search query in response to receiving the search query.

2. The medium of claim 1 wherein the search query is received from a first network location of a plurality of network locations.

3. The medium of claim 2 wherein the translated content that satisfies the search query is included in at least a portion of a second network location of the one or more network locations.

4. The medium of claim 3 wherein the second network location is identified by a second identifier.

5. The medium of claim 4, the operations further comprising presenting the second identifier to a user at the first network location.

6. The medium of claim 1, the operations further comprising comparing the content included in the search query with content in the first spoken language included in one or more network locations.

7. The medium of claim 6 further comprising identifying content in the first spoken language that satisfies the search query based on the comparing.

8. The medium of claim 7, wherein the content in the first spoken language that satisfies the search query is located at a third network location.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein the third network location is identified by a third identifier.

10. The medium of claim 9, the operations further comprising presenting the third identifier to a user at the first network location.

11. The medium of claim 1 wherein the first spoken language is chosen based on user input.

12. The medium of claim 1 wherein the content included in the search query includes a plurality of characters, and wherein the first spoken language is chosen based on a character type of the plurality of characters included in the search query.

13. The medium of claim 1, wherein the selecting is further based on at least one of (i) popularity of each of the potential second spoken languages, (ii) attributes of a user, (iii) search history, and (iv) character type entered into the search query.

14. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by data processing apparatus, a search query including content in a first spoken language, the search query relating to a topic based on a subject matter of the content included in the search query;

determining a relevance of the topic of the search query to each potential second spoken language from a set of potential second spoken languages different from the first spoken language;

selecting a subset of potential second spoken languages based on the relevance of each potential second spoken language to the topic of the search query, the subset having fewer potential second spoken languages than the set of potential second spoken languages in its entirety;

translating, by the data processing apparatus, the content included in the search query to translated content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that is determined based on the content included in the search query;

identifying, by the data processing apparatus, content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that satisfies the translated search query from content included in one or more of a plurality of network locations that include content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset;

identifying, by the data processing apparatus, content in the first spoken language that satisfies the search query from content included in one or more of another plurality of network locations that include content in the first spoken language;

translating, by the data processing apparatus, the identified content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset into the first spoken language; and

providing, by the data processing apparatus, the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding first identifier and each of the one or more of the other plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding second identifier, and

wherein providing the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query comprises:

providing one or more first identifiers that represent the one or more of the other plurality of network locations from which the content in the first spoken language has been identified; and

providing one or more second identifiers that represent the one or more of the plurality of network locations from which the content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset has been identified.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the selecting is further based on at least one of (i) popularity of each of the potential second spoken languages, (ii) attributes of a user, (iii) search history, and (iv) character type entered into the search query.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software instructions executable by data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a search query including content in a first spoken language, the search query relating to a topic based on a subject matter of the content included in the search query;

determining a relevance of the topic of the search query to each potential second spoken language from a set of potential second spoken languages different from the first spoken language;

selecting a subset of potential second spoken languages based on the relevance of each potential second spoken language to the topic of the search query, the subset having fewer potential second spoken languages than the set of potential second spoken languages in its entirety;

translating the content included in the search query to translated content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that is determined based on the content included in the search query;

identifying content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that satisfies the translated search query from the content included in one or more of a plurality of network locations that include content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset;

identifying content in the first spoken language that satisfies the search query from content included in one or more of another plurality of network locations that include content in the first spoken language;

translating the identified content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset into the first spoken language; and

providing the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding first identifier and each of the one or more of the other plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding second identifier, and

wherein providing the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query comprises:

providing one or more first identifiers that represent the one or more of the other plurality of network locations from which the content in the first spoken language has been identified; and

providing one or more second identifiers that represent the one or more of the plurality of network locations from which the content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset has been identified.

19. The medium of claim 17 wherein the selecting is further based on at least one of (i) popularity of each of the potential second spoken languages, (ii) attributes of a user, (iii) search history, and (iv) character type entered into the search query.

20. A system comprising:

data processing apparatus; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software instructions executable by the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

receiving a search query including content in a first spoken language, the search query relating to a topic based on a subject matter of the content included in the search query;

determining a relevance of the topic of the search query to each potential second spoken language from a set of potential second spoken languages different from the first spoken language;

selecting a subset of potential second spoken languages based on the relevance of each potential second spoken language to the topic of the search query, the subset having fewer potential second spoken languages than the set of potential second spoken languages in its entirety;

translating the content included in the search query to translated content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that is determined based on the content included in the search query;

identifying content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset that satisfies the translated search query from the content included in one or more of a plurality of network locations that include content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset;

identifying content in the first spoken language that satisfies the search query from content included in one or more of another plurality of network locations that include content in the first spoken language;

translating the identified content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset into the first spoken language; and

providing the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding first identifier and each of the one or more of the other plurality of network locations is represented by a corresponding second identifier, and

wherein providing the translated identified content in the first spoken language and the identified content in the first spoken language in response to receiving the search query comprises;

providing one or more first identifiers that represent the one or more of the other plurality of network locations from which the content in the first spoken language has been identified; and

providing one or more second identifiers that represent the one or more of the plurality of network locations from which the content in each of the potential second spoken languages of the subset has been identified.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the selecting is further based on at least one of (i) popularity of each of the potential second spoken languages, (ii) attributes of a user, (iii) search history, and (iv) character type entered into the search query.