JP2009157451A - Machine translation system, machine translation method, and machine translation program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the labor of the dictionary registration of a user by making the user register dictionary entry for translation from first language into second language, and automatically using the dictionary entry for translation from the second language to the first language. <P>SOLUTION: A machine translation system includes: a dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary to be used for translation; a translation means for translating input information from first language into second language by using the dictionary stored by the dictionary storage means; and a dictionary entry generation means for reverse translation, which generates a dictionary entry for reverse translation for translating words included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language into the first language by using the dictionary stored by the dictionary storage means, and which registers the generated dictionary entry for reverse translation in the dictionary stored by the dictionary storage means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a machine translation system, a machine translation method, and a machine translation program for translating text and voice from a first language to a second language. The present invention also relates to a terminal provided in a machine translation system.

  Examples of systems that support communication between different languages include a machine translation system that translates text and an automatic interpretation system that translates speech. These systems receive natural language input from the user in the form of text or speech, convert between languages by referring to a dictionary, and output the translation result in the form of text or speech.

  In the system as described above, a user dictionary is often used in addition to a system dictionary storing general words. The user dictionary registers words not included in the system dictionary, such as words specific to the user or field, and uses them for translation. For example, even if the user's name is not included in the system dictionary, if the user name is registered in the user dictionary, his / her name can be correctly translated. For example, in the Japanese-English translation system, even if the name of the Japanese user “Nakano” is not included in the system dictionary, the user dictionary changes from “Nakano” to “Nakano” in Japanese. The dictionary entry for translation is registered in advance. By doing so, the Japanese sentence “My name is Nakano” can be translated into “My name is Nakano” and appropriate English sentences.

  However, it is not easy for a general user to create a translation dictionary. In particular, translation is necessary in both directions when used for the purpose of supporting communication across languages, such as text / voice translation / interpretation (voice translation) performed in a chat or interactive format. For this reason, the user dictionary is not only unidirectionally translated from one language (language 1) to another language (language 2) but also bi-directionally to enable translation from language 2 to language 1. Action is required. However, creating such a bidirectional dictionary is a troublesome task for general users.

  In general, the user often creates only a dictionary for translation in the direction in which the text and speech input by the user are translated, and does not create a dictionary for translation in the opposite direction. For example, if you are a Japanese user, even if you create a Japanese-to-English translation dictionary entry that translates your name (Japanese) into English, the opposite is English-Japanese that translates your name in English It is rare to create a translation dictionary entry for a direction. For users, the necessity of a dictionary for translating the former native language into another language is clear, but the necessity for a dictionary for translating in the latter direction is particularly pre-prepared. This is because it is not clear at the stage.

  However, smooth communication cannot be performed only by registering a dictionary entry for translation in only one direction in the user dictionary. For example, a situation is assumed in which a Japanese user and an American user communicate using a bi-directional translation system between Japanese and English. In this case, a Japanese user inputs a Japanese sentence “My name is Nakano” into the system, and an English sentence “My name is Nakano” is output. Then, it is assumed that the other American user sees this English sentence and, for example, assembles an English sentence “Nice to meet you, Nakano-san” and inputs it into the translation system.

  If a dictionary entry for translation only in one direction is registered in the user dictionary, information for Japanese-to-English translation “Nakano” → “Nakano” registered by the Japanese user is registered in the user dictionary. However, the information for translation from English to Japanese “Nakano” → “Nakano” is not registered. Therefore, “Nakano” is an unknown word, and the system does not know that this is a surname, so in many cases, an appropriate translation cannot be obtained.

  As shown above, when a translation system is used for communication between different languages, if a user uses a certain word, the translated word is used by the other user in the subsequent exchange. The possibility of becoming higher is increased. In the above example, the Japanese user uses the word “Nakano” and the user dictionary translates to “Nakano”, so that the other person naturally uses the word “Nakano” in subsequent exchanges. That's what happened. Therefore, under such circumstances, the user dictionary must also support bidirectional translation. However, as described above, it is not easy for a user to create a dictionary that can be used for bidirectional translation.

  In recent years, machine translation systems are sometimes mounted on mobile terminals as functions of mobile terminals are improved. As described above, in a situation where each user communicates using a machine translation system on each mobile terminal, there is a problem that it is difficult to access and use a user dictionary installed in one terminal from another terminal. .

  For example, in the above example, it is assumed that a Japanese user has a terminal A equipped with a Japanese-English machine translation system, and an American user has a terminal B equipped with an English-Japanese machine translation system. A situation is assumed in which communication is performed by translating Japanese → English and English → Japanese on their own terminals. In this situation, a Japanese user maintains a two-way user dictionary, and the user dictionary on terminal A includes “Nakano” → “Nakano” (Japanese → English) and “Nakano” → “Nakano” (English → Japan). ) Is stored. On terminal A, it is possible to translate “My name is Nakano” entered by a Japanese user using this user dictionary to “My name is Nakano”, but an American user using terminal B If “My name is Nakano” is entered, since the necessary dictionary is not installed in the terminal B, “Nakano” cannot be correctly translated as “Nakano”.

  For example, as a related technique for bi-directional translation, Patent Document 1 discloses a machine translation that can easily maintain a dictionary for translation from language B to language A in addition to a dictionary for translation from language A to language B. A dictionary maintenance device is disclosed. If the related technique described in Patent Document 1 is used, when the user inputs information for translation from the first language into the second language, the information for translation in the reverse direction is used as the GUI using the input information. Estimate and display above. By doing so, in the related technique described in Patent Document 1, the effort and cost of the operation of creating the reverse translation dictionary by the user are reduced to some extent. Further, for example, Patent Literature 2 describes a dictionary registration device that can register an English-Japanese translation dictionary and a Japanese-English translation dictionary with a single user operation.

Japanese Patent No. 2806352 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 62-271059

  However, regarding the creation of a bidirectional user dictionary, even if a dictionary maintenance device as described in Patent Document 1 is used, creating a dictionary for bidirectional translation is still a difficult task that requires effort for the user. . For example, for Japanese users, “Nakano” → “Nakano” is a dictionary that uses Japanese as a headline, so it does not feel particularly difficult to create with effort. . However, the dictionary for translating “Nakano” in the reverse direction to “Nakano” is not a dictionary that is used by the other user in response to himself, but is not directly used by himself / herself. Therefore, the motivation to create with effort is not increased for the user. However, unless the user dictionary is compatible with each other, communication using registered words in the user dictionary cannot be performed well at the site of communication using the system.

  Moreover, if the dictionary registration apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is used, it is possible to reduce the user's labor for dictionary registration in the reverse direction to some extent. However, the user still has to operate for dictionary registration in the reverse direction, and the user's operation time cannot be sufficiently reduced.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and if the user registers only a dictionary entry for translation from the first language to the second language, this is changed from the second language. It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine translation system, a terminal, a machine translation method, and a machine translation program that can be automatically used for translation into a first language and can reduce a user's trouble of registering a dictionary.

  A machine translation system according to the present invention includes a dictionary storage unit that stores a dictionary used for translation, a translation unit that translates input information from a first language to a second language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit, Using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating the word included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language to the first language is generated, and the generated reverse translation dictionary entry is And a dictionary entry generating means for reverse translation registered in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storing means.

  Another aspect of the machine translation system according to the present invention includes a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal stores first dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation, Using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, the first translation means for translating the input information from the first language into the second language, and using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means, the first A reverse translation dictionary for generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language into the first language, and transmitting the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal The second terminal includes a second dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation, and receives the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal. Register dictionary entry in dictionary stored in second dictionary storage means Characterized in that it comprises a that dictionary registration unit.

  A terminal of a machine translation system according to the present invention is a terminal included in a machine translation system, and uses dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation, and a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, to input information to the first A translation means for translating from a language to a second language, and a dictionary for reverse translation for translating a word included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language to the first language, using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means And a reverse translation dictionary entry generating means for generating an entry and transmitting it to another terminal.

  The machine translation method according to the present invention uses the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means to translate input information from the first language into the second language, and uses the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means to translate results. Generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating the word included in the second language into the first language, and registering the generated dictionary entry in a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. It is characterized by.

  According to another aspect of the machine translation method of the present invention, the first terminal translates input information from the first language to the second language using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage unit; The first terminal generates a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result from the second language to the first language, using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage unit; Transmitting the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal; the second terminal receiving the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal; and receiving the received reverse translation dictionary entry Registering in a dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means.

  A machine translation program according to the present invention translates input information from a first language to a second language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means in a computer having dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation. Processing, processing for generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result from the second language to the first language, using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, and the generated reverse translation For registering the dictionary entry in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means.

  Another aspect of the machine translation program according to the present invention is a machine translation program installed in a terminal included in a machine translation system, wherein the dictionary storage means stores in a computer having dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation. Using the dictionary to translate the input information from the first language to the second language, and using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, the words contained in the translation result from the second language to the first language This is for causing a reverse translation dictionary entry for translation into a language to be generated and transmitted to another terminal.

  According to the present invention, if the user registers only a dictionary entry for translation from the first language to the second language, this can be automatically used for translation from the second language to the first language. This can reduce the user's trouble of registering the dictionary.

Embodiment 1. FIG.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a machine translation system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the machine translation system includes an input unit 101, a translation unit 102, a dictionary 103, an output unit 104, and a reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105. The machine translation system is specifically realized by an information processing terminal such as a personal computer that operates according to a program. The machine translation system may be realized as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone that operates according to a program as an information processing terminal.

  Specifically, the input unit 101 is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program and an input device such as a keyboard and a key operation unit. The input unit 101 has a function of inputting an original sentence to be translated in accordance with a user operation.

  Specifically, translation unit 102 is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program. The translation unit 102 has a function of performing machine translation processing on the input original sentence.

  The dictionary 103 is a translation dictionary that is referred to in the machine translation process by the translation unit 102. The dictionary 103 is specifically stored in a storage device such as a hard disk device or a flash ROM provided in the information processing terminal.

  Specifically, the output unit 104 is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program, and a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. The output unit 104 has a function of outputting a translation result by the translation unit 102. For example, the output unit 104 displays the translation result on a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. Note that the output unit 104 may output the translation result to a printing apparatus such as a printer, for example. Further, the output unit 104 may have a file output function for outputting a file including the translation result, for example.

  Specifically, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program. The reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 refers to the dictionary 103 for a word included in the translation result by the translation unit 102 and creates a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating the word in the reverse direction. Is provided.

  The “translation direction” is a term that means a pair of an input language and an output language. For example, “the direction of translation processing is Japanese-English” means that the language used in the input source sentence is Japanese and the language used in the output sentence after translation is English. Means that. Further, “reverse translation” means that the input language and the output language are interchanged with respect to the translation direction serving as a reference. For example, in the above example, “translation in the reverse direction with respect to the Japanese-English translation” is a sentence that uses English as input and reverses the reference Japanese-English direction. Means English-to-Japanese translation that is translated into output.

  In the present embodiment, the storage device (not shown) of the information processing terminal that implements the machine translation system stores various programs for translating text and speech. For example, a storage device of an information processing terminal that realizes a machine translation system uses a dictionary stored in a dictionary storage unit in a computer to translate input information from a first language into a second language, and a dictionary storage Processing for generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result from the second language to the first language, using the dictionary stored in the means, and the generated reverse translation dictionary entry A machine translation program for executing processing for registering in the dictionary stored in the storage means is stored.

  Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for generating and registering a reverse translation dictionary entry. First, the input unit 101 of the machine translation system inputs an original text to be translated in accordance with a user operation (step S101). Next, the translation unit 102 translates the input original text by executing a translation process with reference to the dictionary 103 (step S102). Then, the output unit 104 outputs a translation of the translation result by the translation unit 102 (step S103).

  Next, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 refers to the dictionary 103 and generates a dictionary entry for translating the word in the reverse direction for the word included in the translation translated by the translation unit 102. (Step S104). Then, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 additionally registers the generated reverse translation dictionary entry in the translation dictionary 103 (step S105).

  The execution order of the translation output process (step S103) and the process (step S104 and step S105) in the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 may be reversed. That is, the latter process of generating and registering a dictionary entry for reverse translation may be executed prior to the translated sentence output process. Also, the process of generating and registering a dictionary entry for reverse translation (steps S104 and S105) and the translated sentence output process (step S103) may be executed simultaneously in parallel.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the machine translation system includes the dictionary 103, the translation unit 102, and the reverse translation dictionary entry creation unit 105. When the translation process from the first language to the second language is performed, the reverse translation dictionary entry creation unit 105 refers to the dictionary 103 for the second language word included in the translation result. Then, a dictionary entry for performing reverse translation of the word from the second language to the first language is created and additionally registered in the dictionary 103.

  In the present embodiment, with the above configuration, if only a dictionary entry that translates a certain word in one direction (from the first language to the second language) is created and registered in the dictionary 103, the word is translated. As a trigger, a dictionary entry for enabling translation in the reverse direction is automatically generated and additionally registered in the dictionary 103. After that, regardless of which direction the word is translated, since the entry required for translation is registered in the dictionary 103, it is possible to perform correct translation in both directions using the word. It becomes. Therefore, there is an effect that communication can be performed smoothly even when words in the user dictionary are used.

  In the present embodiment, the user does not need to create a bidirectional dictionary entry in advance, and only has to create a dictionary entry for translation in one direction. If only a dictionary entry for translation from the first language to the second language is created and registered in advance, the machine translation system uses this dictionary for translation from the second language to the first language. Create an entry automatically. That is, bidirectional translation using the word is automatically possible. Therefore, there is an effect that the user's time and effort for creating the user dictionary is greatly reduced.

  In this embodiment, the dictionary entry for backward translation is generated and additionally registered only for words used on the machine translation system. Since the dictionary entries to be additionally registered are limited, the size of the dictionary file can be reduced compared to the related technique described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 in which all dictionary entries for backward translation are registered in advance. There are advantages. As described above, even if the dictionary entries to be additionally registered are limited in this way, lack of dictionary registration does not cause a problem in consideration of the situation where user dictionary words are actually used.

  For example, it is assumed that the user has previously registered a dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” for Japanese-English translation in the dictionary 103. When the text “My name is Nakano” is input from the input unit 101, the translation unit 102 refers to the dictionary 103 and generates and outputs an English sentence “My name is Nakano”. The reverse translation dictionary entry creation unit 105 refers to the dictionary 103 for a word included in the English sentence of the translation result, and translates the word in the reverse direction (that is, the English-Japanese direction). Create an entry. In this example, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 includes the English word “Nakano” in the translation result, so refer to the Japanese-English translation entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” in the translation dictionary, A dictionary entry for “Nakano” → “Nakano” translation in the English-Japanese direction is generated and additionally registered in the dictionary 103.

  Next, when another user enters the English text “Nice to meet you, Nakano-san” into the system and translates it, the machine translation system uses the reverse translation registered in the dictionary by the translation operation performed by the previous user. Using the dictionary entry, the English word “Nakano” in the input sentence is appropriately translated into “Nakano”. The user only created the dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” for Japanese-English one-way translation, but once this “Nakano” → “Nakano” entry was used for translation, the translation was reversed. Dictionary entries are automatically created to enable translation in the reverse direction.

  Further, in the related techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, another problem is that if all entries used for backward translation are created in advance, the capacity of the user dictionary increases. For example, if an English-Japanese dictionary entry is created from a Japanese-English one-way user dictionary and additionally registered, the dictionary size is doubled by simple calculation. However, as already explained, a word registered by one user in a user dictionary is rarely used by another user, and when the user who registered in the dictionary himself uses the word, It is common to use. From this point of view, the related art methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 in which dictionary entries that can be translated in the reverse direction are prepared in advance for all words in the user dictionary are wasteful. In addition, since the ambiguity resolution becomes difficult as the number of dictionary entries increases, it is desirable that the dictionary entries for backward translation be the minimum necessary from this viewpoint. As described above, the related techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have problems that the creation of a backward translation dictionary is troublesome and the size of the dictionary file increases.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, words for which reverse dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” is generated are limited to words included in the translation result. Therefore, unnecessary reverse dictionary entries are not generated, and an increase in unnecessary ambiguity can be suppressed, and at the same time, the dictionary size can be reduced. Therefore, the file size of the translation dictionary can be kept small.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a machine translation system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the machine translation system includes a terminal A10 and a terminal B11.

  The terminal A10 includes an input unit 101A, a translation unit 102A, a dictionary 103A, an output unit 104A, and a reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A. The terminal A10 is specifically realized by an information processing terminal such as a personal computer that operates according to a program. Further, the terminal A10 may be realized as a data processing terminal by a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone that operates according to a program.

  Specifically, the input unit 101A is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program and an input device such as a keyboard and a key operation unit. The input unit 101A has a function of inputting an original text to be translated in accordance with a user operation.

  Specifically, translation unit 102A is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program. The translation unit 102A has a function of executing a translation process on the input original text.

  The dictionary 103A is a translation dictionary that is referred to in translation processing by the translation unit 102A. The dictionary 103A is specifically stored in a storage device such as a hard disk device or a flash ROM provided in the information processing terminal.

  Specifically, the output unit 104A is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program, and a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. The output unit 104A has a function of outputting a translation that is a translation result by the translation unit 102A. For example, the output unit 104A displays the translation result on a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. Note that the output unit 104A may output the translation result to a printing apparatus such as a printer, for example. The output unit 104A may be provided with a file output function that outputs a file including the translation result, for example.

  Specifically, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program and a network interface unit. The reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A has a function of referring to the translation dictionary 103A and generating a reverse translation dictionary entry used for reverse translation with respect to the words in the translation translated by the translation unit 102A. . The reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A has a function of transmitting the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the terminal B11 via the communication line L12.

  The terminal B11 includes an input unit 101B, a translation unit 102B, a dictionary 103B, an output unit 104B, and a dictionary registration unit 106B. The terminal B11 is specifically realized by an information processing terminal such as a personal computer that operates according to a program. The terminal B11 may be realized as a data processing terminal by a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone that operates according to a program.

  Specifically, the input unit 101B is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program and an input device such as a keyboard and a key operation unit. The input unit 101B has a function of inputting an original text to be translated in accordance with a user operation.

  Specifically, translation unit 102B is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program. The translation unit 102B has a function of executing a translation process on the input original text.

  The dictionary 103B is a translation dictionary that is referred to in translation processing by the translation unit 102B. The dictionary 103B is specifically stored in a storage device such as a hard disk device or a flash ROM provided in the information processing terminal.

  Specifically, the output unit 104B is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program, and a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. The output unit 104B has a function of outputting a translation that is a translation result by the translation unit 102B. For example, the output unit 104B displays the translation result on a display device such as a display device or a liquid crystal display unit. Note that the output unit 104B may output the translation result to a printing apparatus such as a printer, for example. The output unit 104B may be provided with a file output function for outputting a file including the translation result, for example.

  Specifically, the dictionary registration unit 106B is realized by a CPU of an information processing terminal that operates according to a program. The dictionary registration unit 106B has a function of receiving a reverse translation dictionary entry from the terminal A10 via the communication line L12. The dictionary registration unit 106B has a function of registering the received reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary 103B.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the terminal A10 and the terminal B11 are connected via a communication line L12 such as the Internet or a wireless communication network (for example, a mobile phone network).

  Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for generating and registering a reverse translation dictionary entry according to the second embodiment. In addition, the process shown below is performed, for example, when communication by a chat or interactive form is performed between the terminal A10 and the terminal B11. In this case, first, the input unit 101A of the first terminal A10 inputs the original text to be translated in accordance with the user's operation (step SA101). Next, the translation unit 102A of the first terminal A10 translates the input original sentence with reference to the dictionary 103A (step SA102). Then, the output unit 104A of the first terminal A10 outputs a translation that is a translation result by the translation unit 102A (step SA103).

  Further, the terminal A10 activates the reverse translation dictionary generation unit 105A. The reverse translation dictionary generation unit 105A creates a dictionary entry for backward translation with reference to the dictionary 103A for words included in the translation translated by the translation unit 102. Then, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A transmits the created reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal B11 via the communication line L12 (step SA104).

  The dictionary registration unit 106B of the second terminal B11 receives (receives) a dictionary entry for reverse translation transmitted via the communication line L12. Then, the dictionary registration unit 106B additionally registers the received reverse translation dictionary entry in the translation dictionary 103B (step SA105).

  Next, the flow of operation in which the second terminal B11 performs translation processing using the reverse translation dictionary entry registered in the processing of FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of translation processing of the terminal B11 after registration of the reverse translation dictionary entry. First, the input unit 1010B of the second terminal B11 inputs the original text to be translated according to the user's operation (step SB101). Next, the translation unit 102B of the second terminal B11 performs translation processing with reference to the dictionary 103B (step SB102). Finally, the output unit 104B of the second terminal B11 outputs a translation that is a translation result by the translation unit 102B (step SB103).

  In the translation process of step SB102, the translation unit 102B translates the original text by referring to and using the reverse translation dictionary entry received from the terminal A10 and additionally registered in the dictionary 103B in step SA105 shown in FIG.

  By executing the above processing, a dictionary entry for translating the entry in the dictionary 103A of the first terminal A10 in the reverse direction is added to the dictionary 103B of the terminal B11. Then, the second terminal B11 can perform translation using the additionally registered reverse translation dictionary entry.

  For example, it is assumed that the translation unit 102A of the terminal A10 performs Japanese-English translation and the translation unit 102B of the terminal B11 is configured to perform English-Japanese translation. In this case, a Japanese-English translation entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” is registered in advance in the dictionary 103A of the terminal A10 by the user. When this Japanese-English translation entry is used in the translation processing on the terminal A10 side, the reverse translation dictionary entry creation unit 105A generates an English-Japanese translation entry (reverse translation dictionary entry) of “Nakano” → “Nakano” To do. The generated English-Japanese translation entry is sent to the second terminal B11 and additionally registered in the dictionary 103B. Then, even if the heading of the word “Nakano” does not initially exist in the dictionary 103B of the second terminal B11, “Nakano” is registered at the second terminal B11 after the registration of the English-Japanese translation entry. → Nakano can now be translated correctly.

  For example, in the initial state, “Nakano” is an unknown word in the second terminal B11 and cannot be correctly translated. However, for example, chat or interactive communication is performed between the terminal A10 and the terminal B11. When the user of the first terminal A10 inputs "My name is Nakano" and translates, Even when the user of the second terminal B11 inputs, for example, “Nice to meet you, Nakano-san”, “Nakano” can be correctly translated without becoming an unknown word.

  In this embodiment, the dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal A10 to the second terminal B11 is only the entry of the reverse translation dictionary for the word included in the translation result of the terminal A10. The number of words included in one translation result is usually about several to several tens, and the reverse translation dictionary entry for one word is about several tens to several hundreds bytes in an embodiment described later. As a result, the amount of data transmitted via the communication line L12 is relatively small, and the cost for communication can be suppressed. Further, since the time required for communication can be shortened, it is possible to suppress a decrease in system response due to communication.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the machine translation system includes the first terminal A10 having the dictionary 103A, the translation unit 102A, and the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A. The machine translation system also includes a second terminal B11 having a dictionary 103B, a translation unit 102B, and a dictionary registration unit 106B. The reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A of the first terminal A10 generates a reverse translation dictionary entry. Then, the dictionary registration unit 106B of the second terminal B11 receives the backward translation dictionary entry from the first terminal A10 and registers it in the dictionary 103B. Thereafter, the second terminal B11 uses the registered dictionary entry for translation processing.

  With the above configuration, when translation processing is performed on the first terminal A10, a reverse translation dictionary entry for performing translation processing in the reverse direction on the word in the translation result is generated, and the second terminal B11 Sent. The second terminal B11 registers the transmitted reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary 103B and uses it in the subsequent translation processing. Therefore, there is an effect that the user dictionary word used on the first terminal A10 can be translated in the reverse direction on the second terminal B11 thereafter.

  Further, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822 discloses an automatic interpreting apparatus configured to freely access and use a user dictionary in another apparatus using a communication function between apparatuses. Has been. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822 has a function of transmitting a user dictionary of one terminal to another terminal, and uses both a user dictionary unique to the terminal and a user dictionary transmitted from another terminal. An automatic interpretation device for interpreting is disclosed.

  As in the related art described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822, when user dictionary access is performed under a situation where a plurality of translation terminals are used, the amount of data communication between terminals is large and the communication cost is high. At the same time, there is a problem of adversely affecting the response. In the related technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-92822, a dictionary of another device is accessed when performing a dictionary search. However, in general, when a dictionary search is performed, the dictionary file is accessed many times. In addition, since a part of the dictionary file is transferred to the terminal via the communication line every time access is performed, the flow rate of data flowing through the communication line increases. As a result, the communication cost increases and the response of the system deteriorates.

  In the related technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822, the entire user dictionary file of a certain terminal is transmitted to another terminal and used for translation processing on the destination terminal. However, since the file size of the dictionary is generally large, the amount of data flowing through the communication line increases even if the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822 is used. For this reason, there is a problem that the communication cost increases and the response is deteriorated only for the time required for dictionary transfer.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the backward translation dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal A10 to the second terminal B11 is for the reverse translation generated for the word that appears in the translated sentence. There are only entries. Therefore, data between terminals is compared with the related technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822 that transmits the entire dictionary or performs translation processing by directly referring to a dictionary on another terminal via a network. The transfer amount is much smaller. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to suppress a reduction in response of the system due to a communication delay while suppressing the communication cost.

  For example, it is assumed that the user has registered a dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” for Japanese-English translation in the dictionary 103A of the first terminal A10. When the text “My name is Nakano” is input from the input unit 101A of the first terminal A10, the translation unit 102A of the first terminal A10 refers to the dictionary 103A and reads English text “My name is Nakano”. Is generated and output. The reverse translation dictionary entry creation unit 105A of the first terminal A10 refers to the dictionary 103A and translates the word in the reverse direction (that is, the English-Japanese direction) with respect to the word included in the English sentence of the translation result. Create a dictionary entry for reverse translation for In this example, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A includes the English word “Nakano” in the translation result, so refer to the Japanese-English translation dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” in the dictionary 103A. A dictionary entry for “Nakano” → “Nakano” translation for English-Japanese translation is generated. Then, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105A transmits the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal B11.

  The dictionary registration unit 106B of the second terminal B11 additionally registers the transmitted dictionary entry in the dictionary 103B of the second terminal B11. By doing so, the translation “Nakano” → “Nakano” can be performed correctly on the second terminal B11 thereafter.

  Next, when an English sentence “Nice to meet you, Nakano-san” is input to the second terminal B11 and the translation is instructed, the translation unit 102B of the second terminal B11 receives from the first terminal A10. Using the registered dictionary entry, you can perform appropriate translations like “I am glad to meet you, Mr. Nakano”.

  To summarize the above example, the user of the first terminal A10 registers the dictionary entry “Nakano” → “Nakano” that can be used for one-way translation between Japanese and English in his / her terminal A10. This shows that the user of the second terminal B11 can translate “Nakano” → “Nakano” on his / her terminal simply by using it. In this way, in the machine translation system according to the present embodiment, only one user prepares a one-way user dictionary entry, and another user performs translation using the same user dictionary word in another translation direction. be able to. Therefore, there is an effect that communication between users proceeds smoothly.

  In this embodiment, the data transmitted between the terminals is a translation dictionary whose headline is a word included in the translation result. Compared with the related technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822, which transmits the entire user dictionary or directly searches the user dictionary on another terminal using a communication line between terminals. The amount of data transferred between terminals is much smaller. Therefore, there is an effect that the communication cost can be suppressed and the deterioration of the response due to the communication overhead (delay) can be suppressed.

  Therefore, in a machine translation system comprising a plurality of terminals connected by a network and having a translation function, when a dictionary entry for translation from a first language to a second language is registered in one terminal, another terminal The corresponding word can be translated from the second language to the first language, and the communication cost between the terminals can be suppressed, and the adverse effect on the response can be eliminated.

  Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a more specific configuration example of the machine translation system in the first embodiment. The machine translation system shown in the present example corresponds to the machine translation system shown in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the machine translation system includes a CPU 601, a memory 602, a mass storage device 603, a keyboard 604, and a display device 605. The CPU 601 operates by program control. The memory 602 is a readable / writable storage device that stores programs and data. The large capacity storage device 603 is a large capacity storage device composed of a hard disk device or a flash ROM. The CPU 601, the memory 602, the mass storage device 603, the keyboard 604, and the display device 605 are connected via an address / data bus 605 that is a communication line connecting the devices.

  Each function provided in the machine translation system is realized as a computer program that controls the CPU 601 to execute a desired operation. As shown in FIG. 6, the machine translation system operates by loading a machine translation program 6024 including a control subroutine 6021, a translation subroutine 6022, and a reverse translation dictionary entry creation subroutine 6023 onto the memory 602. The control subroutine 6021 is a subroutine that governs overall system control. A translation subroutine 6022 is a subroutine for performing machine translation processing. The reverse translation dictionary entry creation subroutine 6023 is a subroutine for performing reverse translation dictionary generation processing.

  Further, the machine translation system stores a dictionary 6033 composed of two files of a system dictionary 6031 and a user dictionary 6032 in the large-capacity storage device 603. The system dictionary 6031 is a dictionary that stores general vocabulary. The user dictionary 6032 is a dictionary that stores vocabulary specific to the user and can be freely edited by the user.

  Next, the operation will be described. First, the CPU 601 reads the machine translation program 6024 from the memory 602 and starts operation under the control of the program. The CPU 601 controls the keyboard 604 under the control of the control subroutine 6021, receives a text input according to a user operation, and temporarily stores it in the memory 602. Next, the CPU 601 activates the translation subroutine 6022 and gives the text temporarily stored in the memory 602 as an input.

  Next, the CPU 601 controls the mass storage device 603 via the address / data bus 606 according to the control of the translation subroutine 6022, thereby accessing the dictionary 6033 to perform input text translation processing. Then, the CPU 601 temporarily stores the obtained translation result on the memory 602. The CPU 601 stores the translation result in addition to a simple character string, including information such as word breaks in the translated sentence and spelling of original words corresponding to the words in the translated sentence.

  Next, the CPU 601 displays the translation result temporarily stored in the memory 602 on the display device 605 by controlling the address / data bus 606 and the display device 605 according to the control of the control subroutine 6021.

  Next, the CPU 601 executes a reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023. The CPU 601 first extracts words included in the translation according to the control of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023. Next, the CPU 601 generates a reverse translation dictionary entry (reverse translation dictionary entry) for performing reverse translation for each extracted word.

  As described above, each word in the translation is stored on the memory 602 in a form accompanied by information on the corresponding original word. Therefore, the CPU 601 uses these pieces of information in accordance with the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023 to generate a dictionary entry having the word in the translation as a headline and the corresponding original word as a translation, thereby creating a reverse translation dictionary. Generate an entry for. In this embodiment, the CPU 601 generates a backward translation dictionary entry for both the word derived from the system dictionary 6031 and the word derived from the user dictionary 6032 included in the translation.

  The CPU 601 additionally registers the generated dictionary entry for reverse translation in the user dictionary 6032 according to the control of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023.

  Thereafter, when executing translation in the reverse direction, the CPU 601 refers to the dictionary entry for reverse translation additionally registered in the user dictionary 6032 and uses it for translation.

  Next, the description contents of the dictionary and the operation of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 will be described using a specific example. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a Japanese-English translation dictionary entry registered in the user dictionary 6032. This Japanese-English translation dictionary entry is used as a reference when the translation unit 102 performs Japanese-English translation. As shown in FIG. 7A, the dictionary entry for Japanese-English translation is described from the line where the Japanese side is <in> to just before the line <out>, and the information on the English side is < It is described between the line out> and the end.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, on the Japanese side of the dictionary entry, the heading is “Nakano”, the part of speech is “noun”, and the last part is “last name”. On the English side, it is described that the headline is “Nakano”, the part of speech is Noun, and the fine part of speech is “surname”. Furthermore, “Miss” is designated as a title. These pieces of information are designated by the user when registering the dictionary. The machine translation system registers these pieces of information in the user dictionary 6032 in advance according to the user's designation input operation. The translation unit 102 uses the information registered in the user dictionary 6032 to translate the name “Nakano” with “Miss” when the English name requires a title. Can be generated.

  Assuming that the user dictionary entry shown above is registered in the user dictionary 6032, the operation of this embodiment will be described below using a specific input example. Hereinafter, the machine translation system shown in the present embodiment will be described on the assumption that it is used as a Japanese-English / English-Japanese machine translation system. Further, it is assumed that the Japanese with the heading “Nakano” does not exist in the dictionary 6033 except for this entry. That is, it is assumed that the Japanese with the heading “Nakano” does not exist in the system dictionary 6031 and there exists only one entry shown in FIG. 7A in the user dictionary 6032. Further, it is assumed that an entry for English-Japanese translation having “Nakano” as a headline does not exist in either the system dictionary 6031 or the user dictionary 6032.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an exchange between a Japanese user and an American user by the machine translation system shown in the present embodiment. Of these, Fig. 9 (a) shows the utterances of a Japanese user. Entering "My name is Nakano" into the machine translation system, the translation "My name is Nakano" is obtained as the translation result. It is shown that. In contrast, Fig. 9 (b) is translated into "Nice to meet you, Nakano san" by the other user in the machine translation system. The following describes how the exchange shown in FIG.

  First, when a Japanese user inputs “My name is Nakano”, as shown above, the CPU 601 proceeds with the translation process according to the control of each subroutine, and the translation result into English “My name is Nakano”. Get. When the translation result is obtained, the CPU 601 extracts words included in the translation according to the control of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023. As a result, the CPU 601 obtains four words “my”, “name”, “is”, and “Nakano”.

  Next, the CPU 601 generates an English-Japanese dictionary entry for performing reverse translation on these four words. For “Nakano”, the CPU 601 uses the information that this is a word translated from the word “Nakano” in the original text using the user dictionary entry shown in FIG. And the English side information are exchanged to create a dictionary entry with the English side as the original language and the Japanese side as the target original language. By doing so, the CPU 601 generates a reverse translation dictionary entry.

  FIG. 7B shows the reverse dictionary entry generated according to the above processing. Compared with the entry for Japanese-English translation shown in FIG. 7A, the entry for English-Japanese translation shown in FIG. 7B includes <in> and <out> in the entry, that is, the source language and the target language. It is created by exchanging the information with the side completely. Then, the CPU 601 additionally registers the generated dictionary entry for English-Japanese translation (see FIG. 7B) in the user dictionary 6032 according to the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023.

  Next, it is assumed that an American user uses the same machine translation system and responds “Nice to meet you, Nakano san” as shown in FIG. 9B. As assumed earlier, there is no dictionary entry for English-Japanese translation with the heading “Nakano” in the system in the initial state, so when trying to translate this English sentence in the initial state, “Nakano” is an unknown word. It becomes a habit of communication. However, as described above, an entry for English-Japanese translation that enables translation of “Nakano” → “Nakano” by inputting the text shown in FIG. 9A first (FIG. 7B). (See) is additionally registered in the user dictionary 6032. Therefore, English-Japanese translation using this dictionary entry is performed, and an appropriate Japanese sentence “Nice to meet you, Mr. Nakano” is generated. In this way, user dictionary entries registered by one user can be shared and communicated with each other.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in the user dictionary registration, if only entries that can be used for one-way translation are registered, dictionary entries for backward translation are automatically created at the timing when the word is used. Is registered in the user dictionary and can be used for translation in the reverse direction. Therefore, in the related techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a translation dictionary entry corresponding to bi-directional translation must be created in advance by a user operation and compared with that which had to be registered in the user dictionary. In this embodiment, there is an advantage that the user's labor when creating the user dictionary is greatly reduced. In addition, since a dictionary entry for backward translation is additionally registered only when a word is used, there is an advantage that the file size of the user dictionary can be reduced.

  FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user dictionary for English-Japanese translation. Contrary to the example of the user dictionary 6032 for Japanese-English translation shown above, the American user registers the user dictionary with the content that the American surname “Kirk” is translated into the Japanese surname “Kirk”. It is assumed that Further, as shown in FIG. 10A, it is assumed that this American user inputs “I am Kirk” to the system and executes translation to obtain a translation “I am Kirk”. In this case, since the user dictionary entry shown in FIG. 8A is used to translate “Kirk” → “Kirk”, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 uses the Japanese dictionary shown in FIG. 8B. A dictionary entry for translating from English to English is generated and additionally registered in the user dictionary 6032.

  After that, as shown in Fig. 10 (b), when a Japanese user enters and translates "Mr. Kirk, nice to meet you", the additionally registered user dictionary entry is used and "Miss Kirk, how do you do?" Appropriate translation is done.

  In the example shown in FIG. 10B, “Miss” in the translation is generated by the translation unit 102 using the information “honorific name: Miss” given to the English side shown in FIG. 8B. Is. This title information is originally derived from the information on the English side (original language side) shown in FIG. FIG. 8A shows a user dictionary entry created in advance by an American user, and the designation of the title (Kirk is an unmarried woman) reflects the judgment of the user who registered the dictionary. . Even if Japanese users do not have any such information, the result of proper translation (“Kirk” → “Miss Kirk”) that automatically uses the title information specified by the other US user. Can be obtained. It can be said that it is impossible for a Japanese user to create a dictionary so that such a translation can be done. In the present embodiment, for example, the user dictionary 6032 is constructed by dictionary creation operations by both Japanese users and American users, so that a dictionary capable of appropriate translation can be created.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a user creates a user dictionary entry describing information effective at the time of translation such as proper use of a title in only one direction, the information is converted into a dictionary entry for reverse translation. It is developed and shared in the form of, and is reflected in translation processing in different language directions. Therefore, there is an effect that the quality of communication between users using the machine translation system is improved.

  Next, the process of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 when the word registered in the dictionary by the user is a verb will be described using a specific example. FIG. 11A shows examples of verbs registered in the user dictionary. In the example shown in FIG. 11 (a), the Japanese side of the source language is a five-tiered verb “starb” and the English side of the target language is a verb phrase “take a break at STARxxxxx”. Yes. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 11A, the main part of the English side verb phrase is “take”, which is indicated by enclosing the word with [].

  In the example shown in FIG. 11 (a), the line from [In-> Out] to the end is a part that describes the structural correspondence between Japanese and English. Case frame correspondence is described. Specifically, “SUBJ ＝ が” indicates that the Japanese “ga” case is mapped to the English main case, and the English grammar case is described to the left of “=”, and the Japanese grammar case is described to the right. To show that. This [In-> Out] part does not exist in the noun dictionary shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, and it is necessary to consider the handling of this part in the creation of the reverse translation dictionary. There is.

  FIG. 11B shows a reverse translation dictionary entry generated by the CPU 601 according to the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023 after the dictionary entry shown in FIG. 11A is used in Japanese-English translation. As shown in FIG. 11 (b), in order to reverse the translation direction, the [In] part and the [Out] part are interchanged as in the case of the noun dictionary. The CPU 601 generates a reverse translation dictionary, leaving the [In-> Out] part indicating the structure correspondence (specifically, the description corresponding to the case frame) at the position as it is. This is because the structural correspondence between different languages centering on verbs is basically unchanged even if the direction of translation is reversed.

  FIG. 12A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user dictionary entry for translating a Japanese verb “photograph” into an English verb phrase “take a picture with mobile phone”. As shown in FIG. 12 (a), the case frame correspondence is such that the Japanese side “ga” case corresponds to the English side main case, and the Japanese side “o” case is indicated by the variable X on the English side. (Ie, the object of the preposition of which modifies the noun picture). In accordance with the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subroutine 6023, the CPU 601 generates a reverse translation dictionary entry by exchanging the descriptions on the Japanese side and the English side, leaving the case frame correspondence unchanged. FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a reverse translation dictionary entry generated for the verb phrase dictionary entry shown in FIG.

  In the example described above, the verb dictionary has been described as an example, but the same processing can be applied to a dictionary for adjectives and other parts of speech.

  In the present embodiment, a case is shown in which a reverse translation dictionary entry is generated for each word included in the translation and is registered in the user dictionary 6032. However, the scope of the target for generating the reverse translation dictionary entry Can be variously modified. For example, the machine translation system generates a reverse translation dictionary entry only for a word derived from the user dictionary 6032 among words in the translation, and does not generate a word derived from the system dictionary 6031. It is easy to execute the process. When the system dictionary 6031 previously supports bidirectional translation and an entry that can be used for backward translation is stored for each entry from the beginning, a dictionary for backward translation from words derived from the system dictionary There is no need to create duplicate entries. For this reason, it is effective to execute the process for the system dictionary 6031 without modifying the backward translation dictionary entry.

  In addition, when registering the generated dictionary entry for reverse translation, the machine translation system can easily perform processing by modifying so that registration is skipped if it overlaps with an already registered entry. is there.

  In addition, the machine translation system can execute the process with various modifications on the lifetime of the generated reverse translation dictionary entry. For example, the machine translation system may leave the once-registered reverse translation dictionary entry permanently in the user dictionary 6032 (no deletion process is performed). Further, for example, the machine translation system may store the automatically generated dictionary entry as a temporary entry in the user dictionary 6032 and delete it from the dictionary at a predetermined timing such as activation of the system. In addition, the machine translation system determines whether the backward translation dictionary entry is not used in the translation process for a certain period of time, and if not used for a certain period of time, deletes the backward translation dictionary entry, etc. The lifetime of reverse translation dictionary entries may be managed in various ways. As described above, the machine translation system shown in the present embodiment can be realized with various modifications.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the machine translation system, the CPU 601 performs the translation when the translation process from the first language to the second language is performed according to the reverse translation dictionary entry creation subroutine 6023. For the second language word included in the result, the system dictionary 6031 and the user dictionary 6032 are referred to, and a dictionary entry for performing reverse translation of the word from the second language to the first language is created. . Then, the CPU 601 additionally registers the created dictionary entry in the user dictionary 6032.

  In the present embodiment, with the above configuration, if only a dictionary entry that translates a certain word in one direction (from the first language to the second language) is created and registered in the system dictionary 6031 and the user dictionary 6032, Triggered by the use of the word in the translation process, a dictionary entry for enabling reverse translation is automatically generated and additionally registered in the user dictionary 6032. After that, regardless of which direction the word is translated, the entry necessary for translation is registered in the user dictionary 6032, so that the word can be correctly translated bidirectionally. It becomes possible. Therefore, there is an effect that communication can be performed smoothly even when words in the user dictionary are used.

  Further, in this embodiment, the user does not need to create a bidirectional dictionary entry in advance, and only creates a dictionary entry that is translated in one direction. If only a dictionary entry for translation from the first language to the second language is created and registered in advance, the machine translation system uses this dictionary for translation from the second language to the first language. Create an entry automatically. That is, bidirectional translation using the word is automatically possible. Therefore, there is an effect that the user's time and effort for creating the user dictionary is greatly reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a more specific configuration example of the machine translation system in the second embodiment. The machine translation system shown in the present example corresponds to the machine translation system shown in the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in this embodiment, the machine translation system includes a first interpreting terminal A 1301a and a second interpreting terminal B 1301b that perform translation by voice input. Interpreter terminal A 1301a and interpreter terminal B 1301b are connected via a wireless LAN 1318 that operates as a communication line connecting the terminals.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the first interpreting terminal A 1301a and the second interpreting terminal B 1301b have the same configuration.

  First, as shown in FIG. 13, the first interpreting terminal A 1301a includes a CPU 1302a, a RAM 1303a, a flash ROM 1304a, a microphone 1314a, a speaker 1315a, an A / D / D / A converter 1305a, and a wireless LAN control. Part 1306a. The CPU 1302a operates by program control. The RAM 1303a is a readable / writable memory. The flash ROM 1304a is a nonvolatile memory. The microphone 1314a is a device for inputting sound. The speaker 1315a is a device that outputs sound.

  The A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305a converts the sound input from the microphone 1314a into digital data. The A / D / D / A converter 1305a converts the digital data into analog data and sends (outputs) the analog data to the speaker 1315a. The wireless LAN control unit 1306a has a network connection function using a wireless LAN.

  The CPU 1302a, the RAM 1303a, the flash ROM 1304a, the microphone 1314a, the speaker 1315a, the A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305a, and the wireless LAN control unit 1306a connect the units in the interpretation terminal A 1301a to exchange data within the terminal. They are connected via an address bus / data bus 1317a which is a communication path to be enabled.

  The RAM 1303a controls the overall processing of a machine translation subprogram 1308a that implements a machine translation function, a reverse translation dictionary entry creation subprogram 1309a, a dictionary editing subprogram 1310a, and a speech recognition synthesis subprogram 1311a. An overall control subprogram 1307a is stored. The machine translation subprogram 1308a is a subprogram that implements a machine translation function. The flash ROM 1304a stores a system dictionary 1312a and a user dictionary 1313a used in machine translation processing.

  The second interpreting terminal B 1301b has the same configuration as the interpreting terminal A 1301a. That is, the communication terminal B 1301b includes a CPU 1302b, a RAM 1303b, a flash ROM 1304b, a microphone 1314b, a speaker 1315b, an A / D / D / A converter 1305b, and a wireless LAN controller 1306b. The functions of these components are the same as the functions of the CPU 1302a, RAM 1303a, flash ROM 1304a, microphone 1314a, speaker 1315a, A / D / D / A converter 1305a, and wireless LAN controller 1306a in the communication terminal A 1301a. The CPU 1302b, RAM 1303b, flash ROM 1304b, microphone 1314b, speaker 1315b, A / D / D / A converter 1305b, and wireless LAN controller 1306b are connected via an address bus / data bus 1317b.

  In interpreter terminal A 1301a, CPU 1302a executes processing in accordance with the control of overall control subprogram 1307a. First, the CPU 1302a controls the A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305 to acquire (input) audio from the microphone 1314a and execute A / D conversion. The CPU 1302a temporarily stores the audio data digitized by A / D conversion in the RAM 1303a via the address bus / data bus 1317a.

  Next, the CPU 1302a activates the speech recognition / synthesis subprogram 1311a, and executes speech recognition processing using speech data as input under the control of the speech recognition / synthesis subprogram 1311a.

  Next, the CPU 1302a starts the machine translation subprogram 1308a with the speech recognition result as an input. The CPU 1302a executes machine translation processing with reference to the system dictionary 1312a and the user dictionary 1313a according to the control of the machine translation subprogram 1308a, and obtains a machine translation result.

  Next, the CPU 1302a starts the speech recognition / synthesis subprogram 1311a with the obtained machine translation result as an input. Then, the CPU 1302a executes speech synthesis processing under the control of the speech recognition / synthesis subprogram 1311a to obtain speech data.

  Next, the CPU 1302a sends the obtained audio data to the A / D / D / A converter 1305a via the address bus / data bus 1317a under control according to the instruction of the overall control subprogram 1307a (output) To do). Then, the A / D / D / A converter 1305a performs D / A conversion on the audio data sent from the CPU 1302a, and sends (outputs) the analog data as analog data to the speaker 1315a. The speaker 1315a converts the analog voice data sent from the A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305a into air vibrations and outputs it as voice.

  Further, the CPU 1302a activates the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subprogram 1309a with the machine translation result as an input in parallel with the speech synthesis / output processing. The CPU 1302a generates a reverse translation dictionary entry for performing reverse translation of a word included in the translation result with reference to the system dictionary 1312a and the user dictionary 1313a according to the control of the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subprogram 1309a. Further, the CPU 1302a performs the processing by the speech recognition / synthesis subprogram 1311a and the one processing by the reverse translation dictionary generation subprogram 1309a at the same time by dividing the CPU time finely (performs time division processing).

  Next, the CPU 1302a sends (outputs) the entry of the reverse translation dictionary generated according to the reverse translation dictionary generation subprogram 1309a to the wireless LAN control unit 1306a. The wireless LAN control unit 1306a transmits the reverse translation dictionary entry sent from the CPU 1302a to the interpreting terminal B1301b via the network connection by the wireless LAN 1318 established with the interpreting terminal B1301b via the antenna 1316a.

  Interpretation terminal B 1301b receives the data of the reverse translation dictionary entry using the wireless LAN control unit 1306b. Then, the CPU 1302b operates according to the control of the overall control subprogram 1307b, and temporarily stores the received reverse translation dictionary entry data in the RAM 1303b.

  Next, the CPU 1302b activates the dictionary editing subprogram 1310b. Then, under the control of the dictionary editing subprogram 1310b, the CPU 1302b executes a process of additionally registering the reverse translation dictionary entry data temporarily stored in the RAM 1303b in the user dictionary 1313b in the flash ROM 1304b.

  Thereafter, the CPU 1302b refers to and uses the additionally registered reverse translation dictionary entry when executing a translation process according to the speech recognition synthesis subprogram 1311b and the machine translation subprogram 1308b of the interpretation terminal B1301b.

  Next, the operation of the machine translation system in this embodiment will be described using a specific input example. In this example, it is assumed that the user A of the interpretation terminal A 1301a is Japanese and the user B of the interpretation terminal B 1301b is American. The interpreter terminal A 1301a is set to perform an interpreter process (speech translation process) from Japanese to English, and the interpreter terminal B 1301b is set to perform an interpreter process from English to Japanese. To do.

  Further, it is assumed that the Japanese user A has previously registered the entry shown in FIG. 14A in the user dictionary. In this example, based on the dictionary entry shown in FIG. 7, the pronunciation information in Japanese and English is hiragana if it is Japanese, and it is a phonetic symbol if it is English. It is described as. These pronunciation information is used when performing speech recognition for the source language and speech synthesis for the target language.

  First, it is assumed that the Japanese user A speaks to the microphone 1314a of the interpreter terminal A1301a, "I am a name". After the voice picked up by the microphone 1314a is A / D converted, the CPU 1302a performs voice recognition processing with reference to the system dictionary 1312a and the user dictionary 1313a as input of processing using the voice recognition synthesis subprogram 1311a. As a result, the CPU 1302a converts the input voice into text “My name is Nakano”. In the voice recognition process, the CPU 1302a uses the reading information of the user dictionary entry shown in FIG. 14A to convert the utterance “Naka” into the text “Nakano”.

  Next, the CPU 1302a inputs the speech recognition result text “My name is Nakano” and proceeds with the translation process according to the control of the machine translation subprogram 1308a with reference to the user dictionary entry shown in FIG. Get the translation result “My name is Nakano”. In addition, the CPU 1302a performs speech synthesis processing with reference to the system dictionary 1312a and the user dictionary 1313a using the English text of the translation result as input of processing using the speech recognition synthesis subprogram 1311a. Then, the A / D / D / A converter 1305a performs D / A conversion on the voice synthesis result from the CPU 1302a and outputs the result from the speaker 1315a.

  When the translation result is obtained, the CPU 1302a generates a reverse translation dictionary entry shown in FIG. 14B according to the reverse translation dictionary entry generation subprogram 1309a in parallel with the speech synthesis process. The CPU 1302a transmits the generated dictionary entry to the interpretation terminal B 1301b via the network connection by the wireless LAN 1318 by controlling the wireless LAN control unit 1306a.

  Interpretation terminal B 1301b receives (receives) the dictionary entry illustrated in FIG. Then, the CPU 1302b of the interpretation terminal B 1301b performs a process of additionally registering the received dictionary entry in the user dictionary 1313a under the control of the dictionary editing subprogram 1310b.

  Thereafter, it is assumed that the American user B utters “Nice to meet you, Nakano san” using the interpretation terminal B1301b. The utterance is input from the microphone 1313b, and A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305 performs A / D conversion.

  Next, the CPU 1302b operates according to the control of the voice recognition subprogram 1311b and performs voice recognition processing on the input voice data. In this case, the CPU 1302b performs voice recognition using the reading information of “Nakano” registered in the user dictionary 1313b by the processing described above. When the speech recognition result text “Nice to meet you Nakano san” is obtained, English-Japanese machine translation processing is performed under the control of the machine translation subprogram 1308b.

  Next, the CPU 1302b performs speech synthesis on the translation result sentence “I am glad to meet you, Mr. Nakano” according to the control of the speech recognition synthesis subprogram 1311b. The generated synthesized speech is converted into analog data by D / A conversion by the A / D / D / A conversion unit 1305b and output from the speaker 1315b.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the exchange shown in FIG. 9 is performed by voice, the vocabulary registered in the user dictionary is appropriately shared to realize communication across languages. can do.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the data sent via the network connection by the wireless LAN is only the data of the reverse translation dictionary entry. As can be seen from the examples of reverse translation dictionary entries including FIG. 14, the amount of data per entry is relatively small. Since the number of entries to be sent is about the same as the number of words in the translation, the amount of data to be sent is relatively small as a whole. For example, if the average amount of data per dictionary entry for reverse translation is 100 bytes and 20 words are included in the translation, for example, when 20 entries are transmitted, the total amount of data transmitted at one time is 20 X100 = 2000 bytes. Therefore, even when the network is extremely low speed, for example, only 64 Kbps (bit per second) can be transmitted, transmission can be completed in about 0.3 seconds.

  On the other hand, in the related technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822 that transmits the entire dictionary file via a network connection, it is necessary to transmit the entire dictionary having a normal size of several hundred KB to several tens of MB. Compared with the machine translation system shown in the present embodiment, since the amount of data to be transmitted is much larger, the communication cost becomes higher and the response is worsened. Compared with the case where the dictionary is accessed directly via the network connection during the analysis processing, the amount of data flowing on the network is much smaller in the machine translation system shown in the present embodiment. Thus, in this embodiment, the amount of data flowing on the network is small compared to the related technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92822, so that communication costs can be suppressed and adverse effects on system response can be avoided. effective.

  In each of the embodiments and examples described above, the case where the source language (language before translation) is Japanese and the target language (language after translation) is English has been described. Without being limited, any language can be targeted.

  In each of the above embodiments and examples, text or speech is assumed as input. However, for example, it is easy to configure a machine translation system by transforming text printed on paper as input. It is. In this case, for example, the machine translation system may be configured to perform character recognition from an image obtained by reading a printed text with a camera and perform a translation process on the obtained text. Similarly, regarding the output, the machine translation system may display the text on the CRT display, or may output the text as a speech. In addition, for example, a machine translation system can be easily configured to output in various formats such as printing on paper and presenting the output.

  In addition, the machine translation system may be modified so as to simultaneously perform translation from the source language text into a plurality of target languages and generate a reverse translation dictionary corresponding to each target language.

  In the second embodiment and the second example, the case where the machine translation system includes two terminals has been described. However, the machine translation system may include three or more terminals. Specifically, for example, a reverse translation dictionary created at a certain terminal may be modified so as to be transmitted to all other terminals.

  As described above, the machine translation system shown in each of the above embodiments and examples can be configured with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the system.

  Next, the minimum configuration of the machine translation system according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a minimum configuration example of the machine translation system. As shown in FIG. 15, the machine translation system includes a translation unit 102, a mass storage device 603 for storing the dictionary 103, and a reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 as minimum components.

  In the machine translation system with the minimum configuration shown in FIG. 15, the large-capacity storage device 603 stores a dictionary 103 used for translation. The translation unit 102 has a function of translating input information from the first language to the second language using the dictionary 103 stored in the mass storage device 603. The reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105 uses the dictionary 103 stored in the large-capacity storage device 603 to convert a word included in the translation result by the translation unit 102 from the second language to the first language. It has a function of generating a dictionary entry and registering the generated reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary 103 stored in the mass storage device 603.

  According to the machine translation system with the minimum configuration shown in FIG. 15, if the user registers only a dictionary entry for translation from the first language to the second language, this is converted from the second language to the first language. It can be automatically used for translation, and the user's trouble of registering a dictionary can be reduced.

  In each of the above embodiments and examples, characteristic configurations of the machine translation system as shown in the following (1) to (10) are shown.

  (1) The machine translation system uses dictionary storage means (for example, realized by the mass storage device 603) for storing a dictionary (for example, the dictionary 103) used for translation, and a dictionary stored by the dictionary storage means, Using translation means (for example, realized by the translation unit 102) for translating input information from a first language (eg, Japanese) to a second language (eg, English), and a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means Then, a reverse translation dictionary entry (for example, reverse translation dictionary entry) for translating the word included in the translation result by the translation unit from the second language to the first language is generated, and the generated reverse translation dictionary entry Is provided with reverse translation dictionary entry generation means (for example, realized by the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105).

  (2) Further, in the machine translation system, the translation unit translates the input information from the second language to the first language by using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit. It may be configured.

  (3) The machine translation system includes a first terminal (for example, terminal A10) and a second terminal (for example, terminal B11), and the first terminal uses a dictionary (for example, a dictionary) used for translation. 103a) is used to store input information from the first language to the second language using a dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means (for example, realized by the flash ROM 1304a). Using a first translation means for translation (for example, realized by the translation unit 102a) and a dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means, the words included in the translation result by the first translation means are converted into the second language. Generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translation from the first language into the first language, and transmitting the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal (for example, a reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit) The second terminal includes a second dictionary storage means (for example, realized by the flash ROM 1304b) for storing a dictionary (for example, the dictionary 103b) used for translation, and a first terminal Dictionary registration means for receiving the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from the terminal and registering the received reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means (for example, realized by the dictionary registration unit 106b) May be included.

  (4) Also, in the machine translation system, the second terminal uses the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means to input information from the second language to the first language. You may be comprised so that it may translate into.

  (5) In the machine translation system, the dictionary storage means stores a system dictionary (for example, the system dictionary 6031) that is a dictionary storing general vocabulary, and a user dictionary (for example, a user dictionary) separately from the system dictionary. The dictionary 6032) is stored, and the translation unit may be configured to translate the input information using a system dictionary and a user dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit.

  (6) In the machine translation system, the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit may be configured to register the generated reverse translation dictionary entry in a user dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit.

  (7) In the machine translation system, the second dictionary storage means stores a system dictionary (for example, the system dictionary 1312b) that is a dictionary storing general vocabulary, and a user dictionary ( For example, the user dictionary 1313b) may be stored, and the second translation unit may be configured to translate the input information using a system dictionary and a user dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage unit.

  (8) Further, in the machine translation system, the dictionary registration unit may be configured to register the reverse translation dictionary entry received from the first terminal in the user dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage unit. Good.

  (9) The machine translation system terminal (eg, terminal A10) is a terminal included in the machine translation system, and is a dictionary storage unit (eg, flash ROM 1304a) that stores a dictionary (eg, dictionary 103a) used for translation. Using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit, a translation unit (for example, realized by the translation unit 102a) for translating input information from the first language to the second language, and a dictionary storage Using the dictionary stored in the means, a dictionary entry for reverse translation for translating the word included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language to the first language is generated, and the other terminal (for example, terminal B11) A reverse translation dictionary entry generation means (for example, realized by the reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit 105a) for transmission is provided.

  (10) The machine translation system terminal (for example, terminal B11) receives the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from another terminal (for example, terminal A10), and stores the received reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary. Means for registering in the dictionary stored in the means (for example, realized by the dictionary registration unit 106b), and the translation means uses the dictionary entry for reverse translation included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means for input. The information may be configured to be translated from the second language to the first language.

  The present invention is applicable to uses such as a machine translation device that translates a first language into a second language, a program for installing a machine translation function in a computer, and the like. Further, the present invention can be applied to uses such as an automatic interpretation terminal equipped with a speech translation function and a program for installing a speech translation function in a portable terminal. The present invention also provides a translation server or interpreter server having a function of receiving text or speech from a mobile terminal, performing text translation or speech translation, and returning it to the mobile terminal, or a program for mounting such a function on a server computer. It is applicable to uses such as.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the machine translation system by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which produces | generates and registers the dictionary entry for reverse translation. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the machine translation system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which performs the production | generation and registration of the dictionary entry for back translation in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the translation process of the terminal after the dictionary entry for reverse translation in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the more specific structural example of the machine translation system in a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of a dictionary. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the dictionary content. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the input / output of a machine translation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the input / output of a machine translation system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the dictionary content. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the dictionary content. It is a block diagram which shows the more specific structural example of the machine translation system in a 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the dictionary content. It is a block diagram which shows the minimum structural example of a machine translation system.

Explanation of symbols

101 Input unit 102 Translation unit 103 Dictionary 104 Output unit 105 Reverse translation dictionary entry generation unit

Claims (18)

Dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation;
Translation means for translating input information from a first language to a second language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit, a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result by the translation unit from the second language to the first language is generated, and the generated reverse A machine translation system comprising reverse translation dictionary entry generation means for registering a translation dictionary entry in a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means.   The machine translation system according to claim 1, wherein the translation means translates the input information from the second language to the first language by using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. A first terminal and a second terminal;
The first terminal is
First dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation;
First translation means for translating input information from a first language into a second language using a dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means;
Using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage unit, a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result by the first translation unit from the second language into the first language is generated. And a reverse translation dictionary entry generation means for transmitting the generated reverse translation dictionary entry to the second terminal,
The second terminal is
A second dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation;
A dictionary registration unit that receives the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal and registers the received reverse translation dictionary entry in a dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage unit. A machine translation system.   The second terminal includes second translation means for translating input information from the second language to the first language, using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means. The machine translation system according to claim 3. The dictionary storage means stores a system dictionary that is a dictionary storing general vocabulary, and stores a user dictionary separately from the system dictionary,
The machine translation system according to claim 1, wherein the translation unit translates the input information using a system dictionary and a user dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit.   6. The machine translation system according to claim 5, wherein the reverse translation dictionary entry generation means registers the generated reverse translation dictionary entry in a user dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. The second dictionary storage means stores a system dictionary which is a dictionary storing general vocabulary, and stores a user dictionary separately from the system dictionary,
5. The machine translation system according to claim 4, wherein the second translation unit translates the input information using a system dictionary and a user dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage unit.   8. The machine translation system according to claim 7, wherein the dictionary registration means registers the reverse translation dictionary entry received from the first terminal in a user dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means. A terminal included in a machine translation system,
Dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation;
Translation means for translating input information from a first language to a second language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, generate a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in the translation result by the translation means from the second language to the first language, and send it to another terminal A machine translation system terminal comprising: a reverse translation dictionary entry generation means for transmitting. A dictionary registration means for receiving a dictionary entry for reverse translation transmitted from another terminal and registering the received dictionary entry for reverse translation in a dictionary stored in a dictionary storage means;
The machine translation system terminal according to claim 9, wherein the translation means translates the input information from the second language to the first language by using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. . Translating input information from the first language into the second language using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Generating a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word contained in a translation result from the second language into the first language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Registering the generated dictionary entry in a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means.   12. The machine translation method according to claim 11, wherein the input information is translated from the second language into the first language using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. A first terminal translating input information from the first language into the second language using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means;
Back translation dictionary entry for the first terminal to translate a word included in the translation result from the second language into the first language using the dictionary stored in the first dictionary storage means Generating the reverse translation dictionary entry generated to the second terminal;
The second terminal receiving the reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from the first terminal, and registering the received reverse translation dictionary entry in the dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means. A machine translation method characterized by the above.   The second terminal includes a step of translating input information from the second language into the first language using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the second dictionary storage means. Machine translation method. In a computer having a dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation,
A process of translating input information from a first language into a second language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Processing to generate a reverse translation dictionary entry for translating a word included in a translation result from the second language into the first language using a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit;
A machine translation program for executing a process of registering the generated dictionary entry for reverse translation in a dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. On the computer,
The machine translation program according to claim 15, for executing a process of translating input information from the second language into the first language using the dictionary entry for reverse translation included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage unit. A machine translation program installed in a terminal included in the machine translation system,
In a computer having a dictionary storage means for storing a dictionary used for translation,
A process of translating input information from the first language into the second language using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means;
Processing for generating a dictionary entry for reverse translation for translating a word included in the translation result from the second language into the first language using the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means, and transmitting the dictionary entry to another terminal; Machine translation program to execute On the computer,
Processing for receiving a reverse translation dictionary entry transmitted from another terminal and registering the received reverse translation dictionary entry in a dictionary stored in a dictionary storage means;
18. The machine translation according to claim 17, for executing the process of translating input information from the second language into the first language using the reverse translation dictionary entry included in the dictionary stored in the dictionary storage means. program.

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