Method, system and computer program product for automatic character transliteration in a text string object

• US 6,460,015 B1
• Filed: 12/15/1998
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kumhyr, David Bruce, Hetherington, David James
• Primary Examiner(s): EDOUARD, PATRICK NESTOR
• Application Number:
  US09/211,812
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 704/1, 704/7, 704/8, 707/530, 707/7, 707/536, 707/101, 707/102, 707/103, 345/467, 341/90
• US Class Current: 704/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/129 Handling non-Latin characters, e.g. kana-to-kanji conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/53 Processing of non-Latin text kana-to-kanji conversion G06F40/129; vowelisation G06F40/232

Abstract

A three-field text string class is employed for data entered in a language which does not employ the latin alphabet or latin character set, but does employ a character set which may be readily sound-mapped to the latin character set. The entered text is stored in a first field of the text string class, while an automatically transliterated representation of the data entered is stored in a second field. The transliteration is generated utilizing a character-mapping resource file table specific to the language in which the text was entered and the language employing the latin character set. The contents of the second field thus provide a recognizable representation of the text string to users unfamiliar with the character set of the language in which the text was entered. The second field'"'"'s contents also provide a pronunciation key for the entered text string for nonspeakers. An abstract object name entered in Cyrillic characters may thus be recognized and properly pronounced by an user who only speaks English.

Claims

1. A system for encapsulating text string representations, comprising:

means for storing a text string entered in a first character set for a first human language in which the text string was entered within a first field of a multi-field data packet in the first character set;

means for automatically mapping characters of the entered text string from the first character set to a second character set different than the first character set for a second human language to generate a mapped text string and for automatically sound-mapping characters within the entered text string from the first character set for the first human language to the second character set for the second human language;

means for storing the mapped text string within a second field of the multi-field data packet in the second character set; and

means for storing a sort value for said text string in a third field of said multi-field data packet.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for storing a text string entered in a first character set within a first field of a multi-field data packet further comprises:

means for storing the text string in Unicode characters for a human language in which the text string was entered.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for automatically mapping characters of the entered text string from the first character set to a second character set different than the first character set for a second human language to generate a mapped text string further comprises:

means for mapping Unicode characters within the entered text string belonging to the first character set for the first human language to Unicode characters belonging to the second character set for the second human language utilizing a mapping table.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for storing the mapped text string within a second field of the multi-field data packet in the second character set further comprises:

means for storing latin characters corresponding to human language characters in which the entered text string was entered, wherein the entered text string was entered utilizing human language characters other than latin characters.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for storing the mapped text string within a second field of the multi-field data packet in the second character set further comprises:

means for storing the mapped text string as a pronunciation key in the second human language for the entered text string.

6. A computer program product within a computer usable medium for encapsulating text string representations, comprising:

instructions for storing a text string entered in a first character set for a first human language in which the text string was entered within a first field of a multi-field data packet in the first character set;

instructions for automatically mapping characters of the entered text string from the first character set to a second character set different than the first character set for a second human language to generate a mapped text string and for automatically sound-mapping characters within the entered text string from the first character set for the first human language to the second character set for the second human language;

instructions for storing the mapped text string within a second field of the multi-field data packet in the second character set; and

instructions for storing a sort value for said text string in a third field of said multi-field data packet.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for storing a text string entered in a first character set for a first human language in which the text string was entered within a first field of a multi-field data packet in the first character set further comprise:

instructions for storing the text string in Unicode characters for the first character set employed by the first human language in which the text string was entered.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for mapping characters of the entered text string from the first character set to a second character set to generate a mapped text string further comprise:

instructions for mapping Unicode characters within the text string for a first human language to Unicode characters for a second human language utilize a mapping table.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for storing the mapped text string within a second field of the multi-field data packet in the second character set further comprise:

instructions for storing latin characters corresponding to human language characters in which the entered text string was entered, wherein the entered text string was entered utilizing human language characters other than latin characters.

10. A method of storing text, comprising:

receiving an entered character string;

determining whether the entered character string comprises Latin characters;

responsive to determining that the entered character string comprises Latin characters, storing the entered character string in each field of a multi-field string class;

responsive to determining that the entered character string does not comprise Latin characters;

storing the entered character string in a first field of the multi-field string class;

determining whether the entered character string comprises characters which may be sound-mapped to Latin characters;

responsive to determining that the entered character string comprises characters which may be sound-mapped to Latin characters;

transliterating the entered characters to corresponding Latin characters;

storing the corresponding Latin character in a second field of the multi-field text class; and

storing a sort value for said entered text string in a third field of the multi-field text class.