CA1267228A - Translation system - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A translation system for translating a first language into a second language has a direct data entry for entering one or more sentences to be translated by an operator and an indirect data entry for entering one or more sentences to be translated by reading data stored in an external memory. Either the direct or indirect data entry is selected.

Description

Translation system The ~resent application is a division of application Serial No. 509,5l8 filed May 20, 1986.
The present invention relates to a dialogical trans-lation system for completing a correct translation incooperation with a translation machine.
Recently, translation systems have been proposed for transIating an original language into one or more other languages. Since such systems have been developed mainly to improve the accuracy of translation, they are not well developed for responding to various needs of users.
For instance, in one conventional translation system, the entry means for entering one or more sentences to be translated is limited to `a direct data entry means such as a keyboard, and, in another type of translation system~
it is limited to an indirect data entry means for reading ~entence data stored in an external memory means such as a floppy disk. No translation system has been developed that is able to select either the direct data entry means or indirect data entry means according to its necessity.
Also, in conventional translation systems, the trans-lation mode is limited to one,for translating one or more sentences each as a unit of one sentence, or alternatively to a mode for translating a lump of sentences as a package.
There has been no translation system able to select either a one~sentence translation mode or a package translation mode a cording;to~its necessity.
Generally speaking, in machine trans1ation, it is : ~:

~: :

, ~. ~ , '.' ''.'.'~'';' ''' ' ,, :.
-,,, ;:

~;'7~.3 inevitable that a plurality of possible translations are obtained, since every language has some ambiguities. It thus becomes necessary to display a list of possible 5UC-cessively obtained translations for the user's selection.
To enable these problems to be discussed with the aid o~ diagrams the figures of the drawings will first be listed.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a translation machine to which the present invention can be applied, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a translation module shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a schematical diagram for showing various methods in the machine translation, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing functions of the translation module, Figs~ 5(1), 5(2~, 5(3), 5(4) and 5(5) show respec-tively contents stored in Buffers ~ to E of the module, FigO 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a translation control program being executed by a CPU
of the translation machine, and Fig. 7 shows possible subordination relations of a sentence.
As an example, let us consider translations of three English sentences as follows:
(1) I had 300 dollars yesterday.

(2) I bought a car with 200 dollars today.
(33 So I have 100 dollars now.
Among these three sentences, since sentences (1) and

(3) both have no ambiguity, only one possible translation can be obtained, and it might be correct. ~owever~ sen-tence ~2) has some ambiguities in the subordination, as shown in Fig. 7. Two possible translations could be ob-tained according to the subordination relations indicated by arrows P and Q respectively. In a translation system, first and second possible translations are displayed ;

: . ~ ::
,:

.: :

'7~

successively and the user will select the one obtained according to the subordination indicated by the arrow Q as the correct translation.
In such a machine translation, the following three needs may be essential to users.
(A) It is required to obtain an outline of senten-ces in a short time without demanding a high accuracy in translation. Accordingly, this requires a function able to translate a lump of sentences in a package. In such a package translation, only a first possible translation of each sentence is emitted, altho~gh one or more incorrect translations may be contained in the translations obtained.
(B) It is required to obtain an exact translation, although it is time consuming. In such a case, each of the possible translations is emitted successively to obtain a correct translation of every sentenceO
(C) It is required at first to grasp an outline by means of a package translation and then to correct the translations believed to be incorrect while referring to ~he outline obtained. This can enhance the efficiency of translation as a whole.
As mentioned above, conventional machine translation systems are specialized for mode (A) or (B), but cannot operate under mode (C3.
The present invention consists of a translation system for translating a first language into a second language, comprising direct data entry means for entering one or more sentences to be translated by an operator, indirect data entry means for entering one or more sentences to be translated by reading data stored in an external memory means, and selection means for selecting either the direct or indirect data entry means.

: - .

. ,. :: ., ." . .
.
:~:: ,.
- :
.
.."" ~ -"
., 7~3 Fig. l shows a block diagram of a translation machine T according to the present inventionO This machine is comprised of a central processins unit 1 for the neces-sary processes, a main memory 2 for storing programs that are developed in order to execute the necessary processes, a CRT display 3 for displaying possible translations etc., a keyboard 4 for entering data necessary for translation processing, a translation module 5 for storing data necessary for translation processing, a printer 7 and an external memory means 8 such as a floppy disk or the like.
Fig. 2 shows an example of the translation module 5 which provides five buffers A, B, C, D and E, and a table means 6 including a dictionary for translation, grammati-cal rules and transformational rules for the so-called tree structure. As will be stated hereinafter, data obtained at each level of analysis in the proceeding of translation are stored into these buffers A to E, res-pectively, according to the level of analysis.
The general principle employed in the machine process will now be explained.
As shown in Fig. 3, there are many levels in the machine translation, as is well known to those skilled in the art. When the source language is entered, analy-sis thereof proceeds in the order of consulting the dictionary (level #l), morphemic analysis (level #2) and constructional analysis (level #3). Machine translation is classified into two methods according to the level to which the analysis proceeds. One o them is a so-called "Pivot Method" in which the analysis proceeds to level #6 wherein the source language is transformed or translated into a so-called intermediate language constructed by general ideas independent of either of the existing lan-guages, and the target language is generated according :
'::
:
:. :
.
.. : :

'7~

to the intermediate language obtained. The other is a so-called "Transfer Method" in which the analysis pro-ceeds to either one level of morphemic analysis (#2), to constructional analysis (~3), to meaning analysis (#4) or to contextual analysis (#5) to determine the internal structure of the source language. The target language is then generated by transferring the structure obtained at each analysis level into a structure at the corresponding level represented or indicated in the target language.
In Table 1, the contents of these analysis-levels are listed.

Table 1 Consulting Dictionary To consult the dictionary provided for translation about each word entered.
. . .
Morphemic Analysis To obtain grammatical data such as a part of speech and an equivalent about the word.
To analyze the tense, the person and the number of the word.

25 Constructional To determine the construction of Analysis a sentence such a subordination between or among words.
_ _ .
Meaning Analysis To decide whether or not each con-30 ~ struction obtained is correct in respect of the meaning.
. ~ .
Contextual Analysis To understand the subject of an original text and to clarify _ ~ ~ ambiguities and/or abbreviations.

: ~
-. . .: . .

~o~

According to the present invention, only the result obtained through the translation process is important, irrespective to the level to which the analysis is to be taken. In the present embodiment, the analysis is taken to level #3 of constructional analysis.
As shown in Fig. 4, the translation module 5 is func-tionally classified into means 51 for consulting with the dictionary and for analy2ing morpheme, means 52 for ana-lyzing construction, means 53 for transferring the source language to the target language, and means 54 for generat-ing the corresponding target language.
Fig. 5 shows the content of each of the buffers in Fig. 2, during the process of translating an English sentence "This is a pen." into Japanese.
First, the original sentence is read into Buffer A as is shown in Fig. 5(1). The means 51 of module 5 consult with the dictionary about each original word to obtain grammatical data and meanings thereabout. The data thus obtained are entered into Buffer B, as is shown partially in Fig. 5(2).
In Fig. 5(2); the data relating to the part of speech are merely shown~ Although the word "this" has multiple parts of speech~ the part of speech of "this" in this sen-tence is identified to be a specified one, as the result of the analysis by the constructional analysis means 52 and the tree structure thereof entered into Buffer C as shown in Fig. 5(3). In this process, the analysis shown in Table 2 is made, based upon the grammatical rules (phrase structure rules) stored in table means 6.
Table 2 Word Group Constituents Sentence ~ Subject, Predicate Subject ~ Noun Phrase Predicate ~ Verb~ Noun Phrase Noun Phrase ~ Pronoun Noun Phrase ~ Article, Noun ,:::
.: :

-~i7 In this rule the arrow (~) indicates, for instance,that "Sentence consists of subject and predicate".
The language transferring means 53 execute an ana-lysis using the transfer rules of the tree structure in a simi~ar manner to the constructional analysis, and the result obtained is stored into Buffer D. The target language generating means ~4 supplements one or more suit-able post-positional words functioning as an auxiliary to a main word and one or more auxiliary verbs so as to form a Japa~ese sentence, and the result obtained is stored into Buffer E (~esult Buffer) as shown in Fig. 5(5). This result is output from the translation module 5.
Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a main routine program according to the present invention.
When processing is started, there is checked at step #l whether any indication is entered through the keyboard

4 by a user or not. If not, the process returns to wait an indication by the user. If the indication entered is an indication of completion of the translation processing, the process is finished at step #2.
If a file name is designated at step #3, the process proceeds to step #9, At step #9, the designated file is opened and a pointer of the file is set-to the beginning and end of the top sentence therein. The designated file name is maintained effective until another file name is designated. The pointer of the file is stepped to the next sentence in the file successively at step #17 when translation of the file or translation of a package in the file is indicated.
If it is decided at step #4 that one sentence is en-tered by the user, the process proceeds to step #8. At step ~8, the entered sentence is displayed on the CRT
with the sentence beginning ~rom a position indicated by a cursor on the display. This processing is carried out using the main memory 2 and the CRT 3 under the control :. . :

: :.~ ,............ .. .

of the CPU 1 as is well known to those skilled in the art.
At step #S, it is decided whether the cursor is in-dicated to move or not. If indicated so, the process proceeds to step #10 to move the cursor to the position designated. This processing is also well kno~n -to those skilled in the art. The movement of the cursor can be utili~ed for moving it back to translate ayain a sentence that has been translated once and/or for moving it forward to enter a next sentence aEter an exact translation of the present sentence has been emitted, if a mode for selecting an exact translation among possible translations obtained with respect to each entered sentence is chosen. If move-ment of the cursor was not indicated at step #5, the process proceeds to step #6 to check whether translation is indicated or notO If it is decided at step #6 that translation is indicated, the process proceeds to step #7 to check whether a file to be translated exists or not.
If any indication other than those mentioned above was indicated, the process is returned to step #S, since it signifies an error.
Four modes of translation are provided as follows:
(A) Sentence Translation According to this mode, one sentence defined by the cursor on CRT 3 is translated.
(B) Package Translation According to this mode, sentences from one defined by the cursor to the last one on the CRT 3 are translated in a package.
(C) File Translation One sentence in the designated file defined by the pointer of the file is called out on the CRT 3 so as to position it at a position indicated by the cursor and then is translated.
5D) Package File Translation Sentences of the designated file from one defined by .
. ~

the pointer of the file to the last one are called out on the CRT 3 so as to position the first one at a position indicated by the cursor and then all the sentences are translated in a package.
In order to designate these four translation modes, four independent keys can be provided on the keyboard.
However, it is desirable to utilize one of the function keys for designating a desirable translation mode in order to reduce the number of independent keys required. For example, a translation key and a file-translation key can be provided as independent keys, these two transla~ion keys being combined with one function key in each of four possible combinations assigned as follows:
Mode A "Translation Key"
(Sentence Translation) Mode B "Function Key" and 'ITranslation Key"
(Package Translation) Mode C "File Translation Key9' tFile Translation) Mode D "Function Key" and "File (Package File Translation Key"
Translation) When mode A or B is designated, the process proceeds from step #7 to step #11. At step #11, it is checked whether the sentence to be translated is the last one or not. If the cursor points to the end of the last sentence displayed on the CRT 3, the process is returned to step #S since there is no sentence remaining to be translated.
If the cursor does not point to the end of the last sen-tence, the process proceeds to step #1~ to translate the one sentence designated by the cursor. Then, it is checked at step #13 whether mode B is designated or not.
~f mode B is not designated, namely mode A is designated, the process is returned to step #S.
If mode B is designated, the process proceeds to step , '' ', ~. .
.
. .
.

. .

:

- 10 ~

#14 and the cursor is stepped forward to the top position of the next sentence in order to prepare the translation of the next sentence on the CRT 3. Then, the process is looped to step ~11 to check whether the sentence trans-lated at step #12 is the last one or not~ The loop fromstep #11 to step #14 is repeated until the last sentence on the CRT 3 has been translated. When the last sentence has been translated, namely the package translation has been completed, the process is returned from step ~11 to step #S, When mode C (File Translation) or mode D (Package File Translation) is indicated, the process proceeds from step #7 to step #15. At step #15, it is checked whether the pointer of the file has reached the end of the designated file or not. If the pointer points to the end of the file, the process is returned to step #S, since there is no further sentence to be translated in the designated file. If not at the end of the file, the process pro-ceeds to step #16 to call out the one sentence indicated by the pointer and to display it on the CRT 3 at a posi-tion indicated by the cursor. This proceeding is well known to those skilled in the art. ~ext, the process proceeds to step #17 to step the pointer to the top Gf the next sentence in order to prepare the translation of the next sentence. Then, the process proceeds to step #18. At step #18, the sentence called out at step #16 and pointed out by the cursor is translated. Na~ely, a process the same as that of step ~12 is carried out at step ~18. At the next step #19, it i5 checked whether mode D (Package File Translation) is designated or not.
If mode C (File Translation) is designated, the process is returned from step #19 to step #S.
When mode D is indicated, the process proceeds to step #20 to step the cursor forward to the head position of the next sentence. This proceeding is in preparation :.: :
~ .:
: .
. ~ ~
' ~ , ` . ' ~ ~ ti for translation of the next sentence. Then, the process is looped ~o step #15. The loop from step ~1~ to step ~20 is repeated until the last sentence has been translated, namely the package file translation has been completed.
When the pointer is forwarded to the end of the file, the process is returned from step ~15 to step ~S.
If an operator wishes to translate sentences contained in a file having been registered in the external memory 8, such as a floppy disk, he operates a unc~ion key on the key board 4 to access the ex~ernal memory at step 1.
When the external memory 8 is accessed, names of files registered ln the external memory 8 are displayed on the CRT 3. ~e then designates a desired file name on the CRT
3 using a pointer or a cursor at step #3 and, accordingly, the desi~nated file is called out at step ~9. If he wishes to translate sentences that will be entered using the key board 4, he selects the entry mode of sentences in a first lan~uage to be translated at step ~1 and en~ers a sentence using the key board at step ~4.
~0 As will thus be understood, the present invention is realized by the translation system shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and program specified by the flow chart of Fig~ 6.
It is to be noted that the subroutine of step #12 or step ~18 provides a function that a next possible trans-lation is emitted when such subroutine for translatingone sentence is successively executed with respect to the same sentence. Namely in Fig. 7, for example, one translation is obtained at first according to the sub-ordination indicated by the arrow P. And, when the same : 30 subroutine is executed without movement of the c~rsor, another translation is obtained according to the subor-dination indicated by the arrow Q~ This function itself is well known to those skilled in the art.

' :' - lla -In the preferred embodiment mentioned above, the sentence called out from the designated file is always translated without exception. However, it is possible to call out a sentence of the file on the CRT without an accompanying translation thereof. In this case, a sentence of the file is called out on the CRT 3 at first, and then the translation thereof is carried out in a manner the same as translation of a sentence entered through tlle keyboard. To achieve this, the file trans-lation key should be changed to a file-call key, and in the flow chart shown in Fig. 6 the content of step #6 changed to include both "Translation Moden and "File Call Mode". Further, the step ~18 should be deleted.
Namely, after one sentence of the file was called out on the CRT 3 at step #16, the translation thereof is ~.

' ' .

: , . : , executed at step ~12 if the sentence translation mode was selected thereafter.
Furthermore, it is possible to provide a "File Call Key" in addition to the Eile translation key. In this case, the file call mode is added to the four translation modes mentioned above. To achieve this, in the flow chart of Fig. 6 the content of step #6 should be changed to include both "File Translation Mode" and "Call Mode", and one more step should be provided Eor checking which mode is selected between step #7 and step #15. Namely, if the file translation mode is selected, the process proceeds to step #15, and, if the file call mode is selected, processes similar to steps #16 to step #20, excluding step #18, are executed, which should be added lS to the flow chart of Fig. 6.
Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example with reference to the accom-panying drawinys, it is to be noted here that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless o~herwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the-present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.

::

::

:: :
:

.
::
, ';

Claims

Claim:

1. A translation system for translating a first language into a second language, comprising direct data entry means for entering one or more sentences to be translated by an operator, indirect data entry means for entering one or more sentences to be translated by reading data stored in an external memory means, and selection means for selecting either the direct or indirect data entry means.