Management of language usage to facilitate effective communication

• US 9,460,082 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2012
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• 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): Dorvil, Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Thuykhanh
• Application Number:
  US13/471,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20130304452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 computer system for providing annotations for revising a message, comprising:

a processor; 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 to a recipient;

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

providing annotations for the message to the sender based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender to the recipient, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving the message for the recipient;

obtaining the meaning map associated with the sender; and

providing annotations on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

3. The computer system of claim 1, 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.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

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

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

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

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

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

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a Software as a Service (SaaS) is configured to perform computer system operations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a Software as a Service (SaaS) is configured to perform method operations.

10. 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 computer, is configured to perform;

receiving a message to be sent from a sender to a recipient;

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 in the message,

identifying alternative language for the sub-constructs; and

providing annotations for the message to the sender based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender to the recipient, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to perform:

receiving the message for the recipient;

obtaining the meaning map associated with the sender; and

providing annotations on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, 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.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, 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.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, 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.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein there are multiple recipients and different annotations are provided for each of the multiple recipients.

16. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the alternative language is identified using at least one of a personal dictionary and a personal thesaurus.

17. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein a Software as a Service (SaaS) is configured to perform computer program product operations.

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

receiving, using a processor of a computer, a message to be sent from a sender to a recipient;

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

providing annotations for the message to the sender based on the alternative language before the message is sent from the sender to the recipient, wherein the annotations indicate the second context of the message.

19. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving the message for the recipient;

obtaining the meaning map associated with the sender; and

providing annotations on how the sender meant the message to be interpreted based on the meaning map associated with the sender.

20. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising:

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

21. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising:

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

22. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising:

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

23. The computer system of claim 18, wherein there are multiple recipients and different annotations are provided for each of the multiple recipients.

24. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the alternative language is identified using at least one of a personal dictionary and a personal thesaurus.