Language translation with emotion metadata

• US 8,386,265 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2011
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Subramanian, Balan, Srinivasan, Deepa, Salahshoor, Mohamad Reza
• Primary Examiner(s): Lerner, Martin
• Application Number:
  US13/079,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20110184721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: 704/2, 704/3, 704/4, 704/7, 704/251, 704/258, 704/260, 704/269, 704/277, 715/364, 715/365, 379/88.05, 379/88.06
• US Class Current: 704/277
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/04 Details of speech synthesis systems, e.g. synthesiser structure or memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/0018 Speech coding using phonetic or linguistical decoding of the source; Reconstruction using text-to-speech synthesis

Abstract

A computer program product for communicating across channels with emotion preservation includes a computer usable storage medium having computer useable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code including: computer usable program code to receive a first language communication comprising text marked up with emotion metadata; computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata; computer usable program code to translate the text to second language text; computer usable program code to analyze the second language emotion metadata for second language emotion information; and computer usable program code to combine the second language emotion information in first language communication with the second language text.

Claims

1. A computer program product for communicating across channels with emotion preservation, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable storage medium having computer useable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code to receive a first language communication comprising text marked up with emotion metadata;

computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata specific to a culture of said second language using a set of emotion-to-emotion definitions in an emotion dictionary;

computer usable program code to translate the text to second language text;

computer usable program code to analyze the second language emotion metadata for second language emotion information; and

computer usable program code to combine the second language emotion information with the second language text.

2. The computer program product recited in claim 1, wherein the second language emotion information is one of text, phrase, punctuation, lexicon or syntax.

3. The computer program product recited in claim 2, further comprising:

computer program code to voice synthesize the second language text and the second language emotion text; and

computer program code to adjust the synthesized voice with the second language emotion metadata.

4. The computer program produce recited in claim 2, wherein the computer program product to analyze the second language emotion metadata for second language emotion information further comprises:

computer program code to receive at least one second language emotion metadatum;

computer program code to access a plurality of voice emotion-to-text pattern definitions, said plurality of voice emotion-to-text pattern definitions being based on the second language; and

computer program code to compare the at least one second language emotion metadatum to the plurality of voice emotion-to-text pattern definitions.

5. The computer program product recited in claim 4, further comprising:

computer program code to select the plurality of voice emotion-to-text pattern definitions are based on the second language.

6. The computer program product recited in claim 1, further comprising computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata using a user profile.

7. The computer program product recited in claim 6, wherein the user profile is a profile of a person originating the first language communication.

8. The computer program product recited in claim 6, wherein the user profile is a profile of a user receiving a communication in the second language, wherein the communication in the second language comprises the second language text.

9. The computer program product recited in claim 8, wherein the communication in the second language comprises a synthesized voice speaking the second language text, the synthesized voice being adjusted using the second language emotion metadata.

10. The computer program product recited in claim 1, wherein the second language information comprises emoticons, and the computer usable program code to combine the second language emotion information with the second language text outputs the second language text in written form including said emoticons.

11. A computer program product for communicating across channels with emotion preservation, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable storage medium having computer useable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code to receive a first language communication comprising text marked up with emotion metadata;

computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata;

computer usable pro ram code to translate the text to second language text;

computer usable program code to combine the second language emotion metadata with the second language text;

computer program code to output a synthesized voice speaking the second language text, with computer program code to adjust the synthesized voice with the second language emotion metadata;

wherein the computer program product to adjust the synthesized voice with the second language emotion metadata further comprises;

computer program code to receive at least one second language emotion metadatum;

computer program code to access a plurality of emotion-to-voice pattern definitions, wherein the voice patterns comprises one of pitch, tone, cadence and amplitude;

computer program code to match the at least one second language emotion metadatum to one of the plurality of emotion-to-voice pattern definitions, said plurality of emotion-to-voice pattern definitions being based on the second language; and

computer program code to alter a synthesized voice pattern of the synthesized voice with a voice pattern corresponding to the matching emotion-to-voice pattern definition.

12. A computer program product for communicating electronically with emotion preservation, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable storage medium having computer useable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code to receive a first language communication comprising text marked up with emotion metadata;

computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata based on a user profile;

computer usable program code to translate the text to second language text; and

computer usable program code to associate the second language text with the second language emotion metadata.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the user profile is a profile of a person originating the first language communication.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein emotion-to-text/phrase definitions for use in translating the emotion metadata into the second language emotion metadata are selected and used according to the profile of the person originating the first language communication.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the user profile is of a user receiving a communication in the second language that is based on the first language communication.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein emotion-to-text/phrase definitions for use in translating the emotion metadata into the second language emotion metadata are selected and used according to the profile of the user receiving the communication in the second language.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer usable program code to translate the emotion metadata into second language emotion metadata based on a context profile.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer usable program code to output a communication in the second language using the second language text associated with the second language emotion metadata.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the communication in the second language comprises a synthesized voice speaking the second language text, the synthesized voice being adjusted using the second language emotion metadata.

20. The computer program product recited in claim 12, wherein the second language metadata comprises emoticons and the computer usable program code to associate the second language text with the second language emotion metadata outputs the second language text in written form including said emoticons.