Management of language usage to facilitate effective communication

• US 9,442,916 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: O'Sullivan, Patrick J., Raguillat, Fred, Stern, Edith H., Willner, Barry E.
• Primary Examiner(s): ORTIZ SANCHEZ, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US13/481,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20130304455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content

Abstract

Provided are techniques for providing annotations for revising a message. A message to be sent from a sender to a recipient is received. A meaning map associated with the sender and a meaning map associated with the recipient are obtained. The message is parsed into sub-constructs. The sub-constructs are compared in the meaning map associated with the sender and the meaning map associated with the recipient. Alternative language for the sub-constructs is identified. Annotations are provided based on the alternative language.

Claims

1. A method for providing annotations for revising a message, comprising:

receiving, using a processor of a first computing device, a message to be sent from a sender at the first computing device to a recipient at a second computing device, wherein the first computing device and the second computing device are coupled together via a communication network;

receiving selection of a dialect for the sender and a dialect for the recipient;

receiving a level of misunderstanding that is acceptable to the recipient;

selecting a meaning map associated with the sender based on the dialect for the sender to determine a first context of the message that indicates a first way in which the message is understood;

selecting a meaning map associated with the recipient based on the dialect for the recipient to determine a second context of the message that indicates a second way in which the message is understood;

parsing the message into sub-constructs;

comparing the sub-constructs in the meaning map associated with the sender and the meaning map associated with the recipient to identify words and phrases where there are differences between perceptions of the sender and the recipient; and

in response to the comparisons showing that the differences are greater than a threshold that is based on the level of misunderstanding that is acceptable,

identifying an alternative language for the sub-constructs in the message; and

providing annotations for the message to the sender at the first computing device based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender at the first computing device to the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message; and

sending the annotated message from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the message is received by the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the meaning map associated with the sender is obtained at the second computing device, and wherein annotations are provided to the recipient at the second computing device on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein software is provided as a service in a cloud environment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a different level of misunderstanding that is acceptable with each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving selection of a modality for each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to providing the annotations, receiving changes to the message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein there are multiple recipients and different annotations are provided for each of the multiple recipients.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternative language is identified using at least one of a personal dictionary and a personal thesaurus.

8. A system for providing annotations for revising a message, comprising:

a first computing device;

a second computing device, wherein the first computing device and the second computing device are coupled together via a communication network;

a processor at the first computing device; and

a storage device connected to the processor, wherein the storage device has stored thereon a program, and wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions of the program to perform operations, wherein the operations comprise;

receiving a message to be sent from a sender at the first computing device to a recipient at the second computing device;

receiving selection of a dialect for the sender and a dialect for the recipient;

receiving a level of misunderstanding that is acceptable to the recipient;

selecting a meaning map associated with the sender based on the dialect for the sender to determine a first context of the message that indicates a first way in which the message is understood;

selecting a meaning map associated with the recipient based on the dialect for the recipient to determine a second context of the message that indicates a second way in which the message is understood;

parsing the message into sub-constructs;

comparing the sub-constructs in the meaning map associated with the sender and the meaning map associated with the recipient to identify words and phrases where there are differences between perceptions of the sender and the recipient; and

in response to the comparisons showing that the differences are greater than a threshold that is based on the level of misunderstanding that is acceptable,

identifying an alternative language for the sub-constructs in the message; and

providing annotations for the message to the sender at the first computing device based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender at the first computing device to the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message; and

sending the annotated message from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the message is received by the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the meaning map associated with the sender is obtained at the second computing device, and wherein annotations are provided to the recipient at the second computing device on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein software is provided as a service in a cloud environment.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

associating a different level of misunderstanding that is acceptable with each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving selection of a modality for each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to providing the annotations, receiving changes to the message.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein there are multiple recipients and different annotations are provided for each of the multiple recipients.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the alternative language is identified using at least one of a personal dictionary and a personal thesaurus.

15. A computer program product for providing annotations for revising a message, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable program code, when executed by a processor of a first computing device, is configured to perform;

receiving a message to be sent from a sender at the first computing device to a recipient at a second computing device, wherein the first computing device and the second computing device are coupled together via a communication network;

receiving selection of a dialect for the sender and a dialect for the recipient;

receiving a level of misunderstanding that is acceptable to the recipient;

selecting a meaning map associated with the sender based on the dialect for the sender to determine a first context of the message that indicates a first way in which the message is understood;

selecting a meaning map associated with the recipient based on the dialect for the recipient to determine a second context of the message that indicates a second way in which the message is understood;

parsing the message into sub-constructs;

comparing the sub-constructs in the meaning map associated with the sender and the meaning map associated with the recipient to identify words and phrases where there are differences between perceptions of the sender and the recipient; and

in response to the comparisons showing that the differences are greater than a threshold that is based on the level of misunderstanding that is acceptable,

identifying an alternative language for the sub-constructs in the message; and

providing annotations for the message to the sender at the first computing device based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender at the first computing device to the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message; and

sending the annotated message from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the message is received by the recipient at the second computing device, wherein the meaning map associated with the sender is obtained at the second computing device, and wherein annotations are provided to the recipient at the second computing device on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein software is provided as a service in a cloud environment.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to perform:

associating a different level of misunderstanding that is acceptable with each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to perform:

receiving selection of a modality for each of multiple recipients who are to receive the message.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to perform:

in response to providing the annotations, receiving changes to the message.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein there are multiple recipients and different annotations are provided for each of the multiple recipients.

21. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the alternative language is identified using at least one of a personal dictionary and a personal thesaurus.