JPH08185407A - Translating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a translating device with which a translated sentence more suitable for the purpose of a user can be outputted by efficiently utilizing a memory and the translated sentence suitable for the purpose of the user can be outputted without requesting any knowledge on a second language to the user who does not comprehend the second language. CONSTITUTION: A translated word switching flag 8 for deciding the kind of a translated word to be outputted and a translated word type designating part 9 for designating the type of a translated word to be outputted and switching the translated word switching flag 8 are arranged. When a designating input to convert the translated word type is performed by the translated word type designating part 9, the translated word type flag set to ON at present is turned off. Next, the desired translated word type to be set is designated. When the translated word type flag of the designated translated word type is turned on, at such a time, the translated word type flag is switched, the translated word type is set, and translated word type setting processing is finished.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interpreter, and particularly to an interpreter for converting a sentence in a first language into a sentence in a second language so that the first person can interpret the information to the second person. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a small-sized interpreter which is intended to be carried when traveling abroad, for example, has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-132863.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, it is possible to search and display bilingual sentences for conversation example sentences of contents required in overseas travel and overseas life, and bilingual sentences corresponding to a plurality of languages can be displayed in desired languages. There is a function to switch to and display.

In the simple translation by such a system, there is only one type of parallel translation sentence in the second language for the prepared conversation example sentence in the first language. This is due to the analysis in translation by the transfer system or the like. Since it does not include errors and ambiguity problems caused by word ambiguity,
The quality of the translation results was guaranteed. However, in a small interpreter, the current technology limits the capacity of the memory that can store bilingual example sentences.
It is impossible for the user to store all necessary example sentences in a comprehensive manner.

As a solution to this problem, there is a technique in which a part of words in a bilingual sentence can be changed and an appropriate bilingual sentence is output with the changed contents, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-324702.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-74267. As a result, the number of bilingual sentences that the user can select can be increased without increasing the number of bilingual sentences stored in the memory, and the user can select an example sentence that is close to his or her purpose.

[0005]

However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-3.
In the case of the translation device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 24702 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-74267, there is only one type of bilingual sentence in the second language for one example sentence in the first language.
No attempt has been made to increase the types of translated words for the words in the first language and output bilingual sentences closer to the user's purpose.

[0006] In general, there are many differences between languages, even though they are the same language, such as words that represent certain things or things differ depending on the region where the language is used, and the notations of the words are different. For example, there are roughly two types of English, British English and American English, but due to these differences, there is a misunderstanding depending on the type of English used by the person who conveys information when translating from other languages into English. May occur.

[0007] Taking Japanese and English as examples,
The English word for "floor" is "f" in British English.
"irst floor", or "seco" in American English
"nd f1oor", and also "second f1o
"or" means "3rd floor" in British English, so depending on the type of English used by the person who conveys the information,
Misunderstandings occur in the translation between Japanese and English. Therefore, it is desired to output an appropriate bilingual sentence depending on the situation of using the interpreter.

However, in the conventional interpreter for searching and displaying the bilingual sentence, if an attempt is made to prepare a plurality of types of bilingual sentences of the second language for the sentence of the first language, the bilingual translation stored in the memory is stored. Since the number of sentences is increased, it is necessary to increase the types of parallel sentences without increasing the number of parallel sentences stored in the memory. In addition, an interpreter that is intended to be carried during travel often has a user who does not understand the second language. Therefore, even if a user is presented with a plurality of types of bilingual sentences, the user can use which bilingual sentence. Since it is not known what to do, the user cannot select the necessary bilingual sentence unless the user is informed of when each of the presented multiple types of bilingual sentence is used. For this reason, it is more confusing for the user to specify the desired type of bilingual sentence in advance and output only the bilingual sentence of the specified type, rather than presenting the user with a plurality of bilingual sentences having different types of translated words. It is possible to provide the user with the necessary bilingual text without the need to do so.

As described above, by allowing the user to specify the type of the translated word in advance, it is possible to reliably output the bilingual sentence of the specified type of the translated word. However, as described above,
Since a user who uses an interpreter device of the type carried during traveling often does not understand the second language, specifying the type of the translated word in the second language does not have such knowledge of the second language. It may be difficult for the user to specify easily.

For example, taking an interpreter for translating from Japanese to English, the type of English as the second language is
It is the type of English that the other party speaks, and when using an interpreter for overseas travel, etc., the user must specify the type of translation if he does not know whether the English used at the destination is British English or American English. I can't. In this way, for a user who does not understand the second language, in order to specify the type of the translated word, the user can easily determine the type of the translated word rather than directly indicating the type of the translated word to the user,
It is more appropriate to indirectly specify the type of translated word by making the designation for that matter.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and can efficiently use a memory to output a bilingual sentence more suitable for the purpose of the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide an interpreter capable of outputting a bilingual sentence suitable for a user's purpose without requiring the user who does not understand it to have knowledge of the second language.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned object is to make a translation target from a bilingual database storing a sentence of a first language and a corresponding bilingual sentence of a second language.
A language sentence is selected by the selection designation unit, and the selected first language sentence and the corresponding parallel translation data are stored in the storage unit and output by the output unit, and a word of a predetermined portion in the selected first language sentence is selected. Is a translation device capable of converting into a suitable bilingual sentence by the conversion unit by replacing the word in the word changing unit and obtaining the bilingual translation of the word of the predetermined portion from the word dictionary, wherein the word dictionary becomes a word in the first language. A plurality of types of corresponding translated words of the second language are stored, and a flag setting unit that sets a translated word switching flag according to the type of the translated word selected by the user is provided, and the conversion unit includes a word in the first language sentence. The interpreter according to claim 1, wherein a sentence of the first language is converted into a bilingual sentence of the translated word type by determining whether or not there is a replaceable portion and obtaining a translated word of the translated word type from the word dictionary according to the translated word switching flag. To be achieved.

According to the present invention, for the above-mentioned object, the flag setting means has a translated word type designation table for indirectly designating a translated word type without requiring knowledge of the second language.
It is achieved by an interpreter.

[0014]

According to the interpreter of claim 1, when converting a sentence in the first language into a bilingual sentence in the second language, the type of the translated word to be translated is designated in advance, and the words in the bilingual sentence can be replaced. The translated words are exchanged according to the user's specification only in the possible places. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently use the memory without increasing the number of bilingual sentences stored in the bilingual database, and to use many types of memory according to the purpose of the user. Bilingual text can be provided. As a result, various contents can be set as the translated word type, and it is possible to provide a bilingual sentence that covers a wide range of expressions, reflecting the characteristics of each translated language.

According to the interpreting apparatus of the second aspect, since the translated word type is specified by using the translated word type specification table, an appropriate translated word switching flag is set without the user directly designating the translated word type. It is possible to obtain the type of parallel translation required by the user. As a result, even a user who does not understand the second language can obtain an appropriate bilingual sentence.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the interpreter according to claim 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the interpreting apparatus of the present embodiment has a sentence in the first language and a corresponding bilingual sentence in the second language, and a word changeable portion in the sentence in the first language. A parallel translation database 6 is provided as a parallel translation database means for storing word candidates that can be replaced with slots. The parallel translation database 6 specifies and selects a sentence in the first language to be translated from the parallel translation database 6. A selection designation unit 1 is connected as a selection designation unit for performing various designation inputs such as a translation instruction and a word change instruction input. The selection designation unit 1 is connected to a storage unit 2 serving as a storage unit that temporarily stores the selected sentence in the first language, its bilingual sentence, and word candidates to be replaced in the slot. Reference numeral 2 denotes a word changing unit 5 as a word changing unit that performs a process of replacing a word in a slot in the first language sentence stored in the storage unit 2 and presence / absence of a slot in the first language sentence stored in the storage unit 2. And a first language stored in the bilingual database 6, and a translating unit 4 as a translating means for retrieving the translated word of the slot word in the first language sentence from the word dictionary 7 and converting it into an appropriate bilingual sentence. The output unit 3 is connected as an output unit for outputting the bilingual sentence and the word candidate to be replaced in the slot in the first language sentence, and the bilingual sentence selected by the converting unit 4. In addition, the conversion unit 4 includes a first
A word dictionary 7 for storing words in a language and translated words in a second language,
Translation word switching flag 8 for determining the type of translation word to be output
Are connected, and the translated word switching flag 8 is connected to a translated word type designating unit 9 as a translated word type designating unit for designating the type of translated word to be translated and switching the translated word switching flag 8.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The first language is Japanese and the second is
Take, for example, an interpreter whose language is English.

First, the translated word type setting process for setting the type of translated word used for the output bilingual sentence will be described. The process of converting the sentence of the first language into the bilingual sentence of the second language by using the translated word of the translated word set by this process will be described later.

Since the first language is Japanese and the second language is English here, there are two types of translated words, British English and American English. First, when the translation word type designating section 9 inputs a designation for changing the translation word type (step A1), the translation word type flag currently set to ON in the translation word switching flag 8 by the translation word type designating section 9 is turned off in step A2. To be done. In this embodiment, the translated word switching flag 8 is composed of a translated word type flag indicating American English and a translated word type flag indicating British English. The translated word type flag indicating American English is represented by the symbol (A), and the translated word type indicating British English. The flag is represented by the symbol (B). If the currently set translation type is American English, the translation type flag of (A) is ON and the translation type flag of (B) is OFF, so in step A2 (A ) The translated word type flag is OFF. Next, in step 3, the translated word type to be set is designated. When British English is designated, the translated word type flag (B) of the translated word type designated in step A3 is turned on in step A4, and the translated word type flag is changed from (A) to (B). Is switched to, the translated word type is set to British English, and the translated word type setting process ends.

The bilingual data stored in the bilingual database 6 includes data in which words can be replaced, and the word dictionary 7 is searched for the translated word of the word put in the slot in the first language sentence. And the word dictionary that is obtained as a representative value in the slot in the bilingual sentence and the word dictionary 7
By replacing the translated words retrieved from, the bilingual sentence in the second language can be obtained.

There are the following two types of slots in the parallel translation data of this embodiment. The first slot is a word changeable slot in which the user can replace words, and the translated word of the word replaced by the user in the slot in the first language sentence is obtained from the word dictionary 7 as described above. When there are a plurality of translated words retrieved from the word dictionary 7, the translated word is selected according to the set translated word type. For example, FIG.
In the example content of the parallel translation database shown in FIG. 00
It is shown that the part of [] in the Japanese sentence “Where is the [bus stop]?” Of No. 1 is a word change slot, and its parallel translation “Where is the”
[Bus stop]? The slot [] in “” is a slot whose translated word is changed corresponding to the word that enters the slot in the first language sentence.

The second slot is a dedicated word type corresponding slot in which the user cannot exchange words, and the existence of the slot is not presented to the user. An example of parallel translation data in which this slot exists is NO. 003 Japanese sentence “<Reservation> I did” and its parallel translation English sentence “I
"made a <reservation (A)>". The <> part is a slot dedicated to translated words, and the word "reserved" in the slot in the Japanese sentence by the user.
However, there are two types of translations for "reservation", "reservation" which is American English and "booking" which is British English, and it is necessary to replace the translations in the bilingual sentence according to the translation type set by the user. Therefore, it is distinguished from the word changeable slot. The word changeable slot and the translated word type dedicated slot are collectively referred to as a slot hereinafter.

Incidentally, the translated words contained as representative values in the word changeable slot and the translated word type corresponding slot in the bilingual sentence are unified to the default translated word type, and the translated word type symbol indicating the type of translated word is added to the translated word. ing. However, the translated word type symbol is not added to the translated words of all the slots, and the translated word in the word dictionary 7 of the word of the first language is 1
If there are only types, the translation type symbol is not given.

In this embodiment, there are two types of translated words, American English and British English. American English is represented by the translated word type symbol (A), and British English is denoted by the translated word type symbol (B). The default translation type is American English.

For example, in FIG. 003 “I ma
"reservation" included as a representative value in "de a <reservation (A)>"
Indicates that a default translation type symbol (A) is assigned to the. In addition, NO. 001 English sentence "Wh
ere is the [bus stop]? No translated word type symbol is given to the translated word "bus stop" in the slot "." This means that the translated word in the word dictionary 7 of the word "bus stop" in the Japanese sentence corresponding to the translated word is "bus stop". This is because there is only one type.

Further, in the parallel translation database 6 of this embodiment, in addition to the sentence in the first language and the parallel translation sentence in the second language described above, the first candidate word that can enter the word changeable slot is also the first. It is stored in association with the language sentence number. When there is an instruction input for exchanging the words contained in the word convertible slots as the representative value, the user is presented with the candidates of the words that can be included in the slots for which the words are exchanged. NO. Of the parallel translation database shown in FIG. 001 ', NO. 00
2 ', NO. 005 'is NO. 001, NO.
002, NO. It is shown that it is a candidate for a word that can enter the word changeable slot in the first language sentence of 005. For example, in FIG. When the user gives an instruction to change a word in the word changeable slot of the Japanese sentence 001, "Where is [bus stop]?", The NO. "001""Ticket section / museum / cinema / ..." is shown to the user, and the word "bus stop" in the slot is replaced with the word selected by the user from among the candidates. As described above, in this embodiment, the words used for word replacement are stored in the parallel translation database 6 for the sake of convenience, and the user is allowed to select the word. However, the method of replacing the word in the slot of the first language is not limited to this. The present invention is not limited to this, and an input unit may be provided to allow the user to directly input a word into the slot.

Next, the word dictionary 7 will be described in detail.

In the word dictionary 7, when there are plural kinds of translated words of the word in the first language, a translated word type symbol is given to each translated word. The contents of the word dictionary in this embodiment are as shown in FIG. For example, the contents of the word dictionary shown in FIG. 002 has two types of translations of the Japanese word "traveler": "travelerer" in American English and "travelerer" in British English.
It is shown that the translated word type symbol (A) for American English and the translated word type symbol (B) for British English are added. N
O. 003 is the Japanese word "subway" translated from "subway" in American English and "under" in British English
It is shown that there are two types of "ground".

The process of converting the sentence of the first language into the bilingual sentence of the second language using the translated words of the translated word type set by the translated word type setting process will be described below.

First, as shown in the processing flow of FIG. 3, when a sentence in the first language to be translated is selected from the bilingual base 6 in step S1, the selected first language sentence and its bilingual sentence are selected. It is sent to the storage unit 2. At this time, if there is a word changeable slot in the first language sentence, candidates for a replacement word for the slot are also sent to the storage unit 2. Step S
At 2, the conversion unit 4 checks whether or not a slot is present in the first language sentence sent to the storage unit 2. If there is no slot here, the process proceeds to step S5, the bilingual sentence of the second language corresponding to the selected first language sentence is output, and the process ends. For example, N in the parallel translation database
O. If 004 "Thank you very much" is selected, there is no slot in this Japanese sentence, so the parallel translation "Tha
nk you very much. Will be output. When the slot exists in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3, and the conversion unit 4 checks whether or not the word changeable slot exists. If the word changeable slot does not exist, only the translated word type dedicated slot exists, and the process proceeds to the process T. Also,
If there is a word changeable slot, step S4
Go to.

The operation of the process T will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step T1, it is checked which translated word type flag is currently turned on in the translated word switching flag. Next, in step T2, it is determined whether or not the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON and the translated word type symbol assigned to the translated word are the same. If they are the same, it is not necessary to change the translated word, so step S in FIG.
Returning to the processing of 5, the bilingual sentence is output. For example, at step S1, the parallel translation database 6 shown in FIG. 003
When "<reserved>done." Is selected, there is no word-changeable slot, so the translated text "I made
It is checked whether or not the translated word type symbol (A) in "a <reservation (A)>" matches the symbol of the translated word type flag that is currently ON. If they match, it means that the translation type was set to (A) in American English, and "I made a reserve
ation. Is output.

In step T2, if the symbol of the translated word type flag which is set to ON is not the same as the translated word type symbol of the translated word in the slot in the bilingual sentence, the process proceeds to step T3, where the translation part 4 determines the translated word type symbol. A translation of a word in the first language corresponding to the assigned translation is retrieved from the word dictionary 7,
In step T4, a translation word to which a translation word type symbol similar to that of the translation word type flag that is set to ON in the translation word switching flag 8 is added is selected and replaced with the translation word included as a representative value in the slot in the bilingual sentence. . Next, in step T5, it is determined whether or not the replacement of the translated words has been completed for all the slots containing the translated words to which the translated word type symbol is added. If the translated words have been exchanged for all the slots, the process returns to step S5 in FIG. 3, and the translated texts for which the translated words have been exchanged are output. If the replacement of all the slots has not been completed, the process returns to step T3, and the processes of T3 to T5 are repeated until the replacement of all slots to which the translated word type symbol is added is completed.

For example, when the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON is (B), the NO. 003
The parallel translation "I made a"
"Reservation (A)>" and the symbol of the translated word type flag that is ON (B)
Is not the same, the translated word "reserved" is searched from the word dictionary 7, and the content example of the word dictionary in FIG. 005
, The translated word “b” with the translated word symbol (B) is added.
"ooking" is a bilingual translation of "reservatio"
"n" is replaced with "I made a book"
ng. Will be output.

Here, the description returns to the process S.

If there is a word changeable slot in step S3, it is determined in step S4 whether or not to replace the word with the word changeable slot. The determination here waits for a translation instruction input or a word exchange instruction input from the user by the selection designation unit 1, and if there is a word exchange instruction input, the word exchange is performed, so the process proceeds to the process E. If the translation instruction is input, it means that the word is not changed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S6, and it is determined whether or not the translation word type symbol is given to the word of the slot in the bilingual sentence. If there is no translation word type symbol here, it is not necessary to convert the bilingual sentence according to the set translation word type, so the process proceeds to step S5, and the bilingual sentence is output.

For example, N of the parallel translation database shown in FIG.
O. If the user selects 001 "Where is the [bus stop]?" And the translation instruction is input without replacing the words in the word changeable slot [], the parallel translation "W
here is a [busstop]? In this case, since the word in the slot is not assigned a translation type symbol, the corresponding bilingual sentence is output as it is. If a translation word type symbol is assigned to the word in the slot in the bilingual sentence in step S6, whether or not the translation word type symbol is the same as the translation word type flag symbol that is currently ON in the translation word switching flag 8 Needs to be checked, the process T moves to step T2. For example, step S
No. 1 of the parallel translation database shown in FIG. 002 When the user selects “Waiting at [1st floor]” and the translation instruction is input without replacing the words in the word convertible slot [], the parallel translation “I'll wait”
on the [first floor (A). Since it is confirmed that the translated word type symbol (A) is added to the parallel translation in the slot of “”, if the symbol of the translated word type flag that is currently ON is (A), the translated text is output. Will be done.

Further, if the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON is (B), NO. 002 “I'll wait on the [first”
f1oor (A)]. Since the translated word type symbol given to the translated word in the slot in “” is not the same as the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON, from the word dictionary 7,
The contents of the word dictionary shown in FIG. The translated word “ground f1ooor” with the translated word type symbol (B) is selected, and the translated sentence “I'll waiton the [ground” is searched.
f1oor]. Will be output.

The operation of the process E will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The process E is started by the instruction to replace the words in step S4 of FIG. In step E1, when the user designates a word convertible slot in which the words are exchanged by the selection designation unit 1, the word is sent to the storage unit 2 together with the bilingual sentence data selected when the translation target sentence is selected in step S1. The candidate for the replacement word for the slot is output to the output unit 3 (step E2). next,
When the replacement designation word for the word convertible slot is selected by the selection designating unit 1 (step E3), the word changing unit 5 enters the slot to be replaced in the first language sentence in step E4. The word is replaced with the word selected in step E3. Then, the process proceeds to step E5, and in step E4, it is determined whether or not to translate the word in the word translatable slot of the first language with the contents replaced. The determination here is made by the translation designation input from the user through the selection designation unit 1. If there is a translation instruction input, the process proceeds to step E6, but as long as there is no translation instruction, the words can be exchanged into the word convertible slot, and the designation input of the slot to be the word exchange target at step E1 is accepted. Therefore, it is possible to replace words in a plurality of word convertible slots.

In step E6, the word dictionary 7 is searched for the translation of the word replaced in step E4. Then, in step E7, it is determined whether or not there is only one retrieved translated word. If there is only one translation,
It proceeds to step E12. If there is not one translated word, the process proceeds to step E8. If there is only one translated word, there are multiple translated words. Therefore, in step E8, the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON in the translated word switching flag 8 is checked. Further, in step E9, the step E8
A process of selecting a translated word having the same translated word type symbol as the symbol of the translated word type flag checked in step S6 from the multiple types of translated words searched in step E6 and replacing the translated word with the translated word included as a representative value in the slot in the bilingual sentence. Is performed.

Then, in step E10, it is determined whether or not the process of replacing the translated words in the slots in the bilingual sentence corresponding to all the slots in which the word replacement process has been performed in step E4 is completed. If not completed here, the process returns to step E6 and the subsequent processes are repeated.
At step E4, if the replacement of the translated words into the slots in the bilingual sentence corresponding to all the slots for which the replacement processing has been performed is completed, the process proceeds to step E11.

In steps E6 to E10, the translated word of the word swapped by the user could be swapped in the bilingual sentence according to the translated word type switching flag, but the word in the slot not swapped by the user. As for the translated word, the translated word needs to be a translated word that complies with the translated word type switching flag. Therefore, in step E11, it is determined whether or not there is a slot containing the translated word to which the translated word type symbol is added in the bilingual sentence. If it does not exist, it is not necessary to refer to the translated word switching flag, so step S in FIG.
Returning to step 5, the bilingual sentence that has been converted by word replacement is output. For example, N in the parallel translation database shown in FIG.
O. 005 If you change the word in the slot of "Where can you buy [shirt]?" To "vest", as a result of searching the word dictionary for the translated word "vest", the word dictionary N
O. As 006 shows, the translated word for "vest" is "ve
Since there are two of "st" and "waitcoat", the symbol of the translated word type flag which is currently ON in the translated word switching flag is checked. If the symbol of the translation type flag that is currently ON is (B) indicating British English, the translation word "waistcoat" to which the translation type symbol (B) indicating the translation of British English is added is Selected and translated text "Where can Ibay a
wastecoat? Is output.

In step E11, if there is a slot containing a translated word with a translated word type symbol in the bilingual sentence, it is necessary to refer to the translated word switching flag to determine whether or not the translated word needs to be replaced. Since there is processing T
Then, the process proceeds to step T2. Since the processing T has already been described, the description of the subsequent processing will be omitted.

In step E7, if the selected word has only one translated word, the process proceeds to step E12 and the translated word is selected regardless of the set translated word type. Therefore, the translated word is selected. The process of replacing with the translated word of the representative value of the slot in the bilingual sentence is performed, and the operations after step E10 are performed. For example, in the parallel translation database 6 shown in FIG. 005 If the word "shirt" in the word-convertible slot of "Where can I buy [shirt]?" Is replaced with "One Piece", the word dictionary example N
O. As indicated by 007, since there is only one translated word for "one piece", the translated word "one-piece dress"
The "s" is replaced with the representative value "short" of the slot of the bilingual sentence. Since there is only one slot in the Japanese sentence in which the words have been replaced, the translated sentence "Where"
can I buy a one-piece dr
ess? Is output.

Next, an embodiment of the interpreter according to claim 2 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the interpreting apparatus of this embodiment has a sentence in the first language and a corresponding bilingual sentence in the second language, and a word changeable portion in the sentence in the first language. The parallel translation database 6 that stores the candidates of words that can be replaced in the slot is provided. In the parallel translation database 6, a sentence in the first language to be translated is specified and selected from the parallel translation database 6, and a translation instruction and word change are made. A selection designation unit 1 for performing various designation inputs such as the instruction input is connected. The selection designation unit 1 is connected to a storage unit 2 that temporarily stores the selected sentence in the first language, its bilingual sentence, and a candidate for a word to be replaced in the slot. A word changing unit 5 for replacing a word in a slot in the first language sentence stored in the storage unit 2;
The presence or absence of a slot in the first language sentence stored in
A conversion unit 4 for retrieving a translated word of a slot in the first language sentence from the word dictionary 7 and converting it into an appropriate bilingual sentence, a first language stored in the bilingual database 6, its bilingual translation, and a slot in the first language sentence. The output unit 3 that outputs the candidate of the word to be replaced with and the bilingual sentence selected by the conversion unit 4 is connected. The conversion unit 4 is also connected to a word dictionary 7 for storing words in the first language and translated words in the second language, and a translated word switching flag 8 for determining the type of translated words to be output.
The translation word switching flag 8 specifies the type of translation word to be translated,
A translated word type designation unit 9 for switching the translated word switching flag 8 is connected. The translated word type designation unit 9 is connected to a translated word type designation table 10 used in designating a translated word type and detailed in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When an instruction input for designating a translated word type is made by the translated word type designating section 9 (step B1), the translated word type designating section 9 turns off the translated word type flag which is currently ON in the translated word switching flag 8. (Step B2). Next, in step B3, selection items for setting the translated word type are displayed as shown in FIG. In this example, the setting of the translated word type is changed depending on the area where the interpreter is used, so that even a user who does not know the type of English used in the area where the interpreter is used can set the translated word type. The user can set the translation word type simply by selecting the area where the interpreter is used, which is his travel destination.
In this way, the user who does not understand the second language by not indirectly designating the translated word type but indirectly setting the translated word type can select the translated word type without being aware of the characteristics of the second language. Can be specified. In particular, such a designation method is effective for an interpreter that is carried by a user who does not understand the second language very often and is highly used.

The selection items shown in the example of the display screen of FIG. 10 indicate travel areas by characters, but in addition to this, a world map is displayed to allow the user to instruct the travel destination on the map, or a national flag pattern. May be displayed to allow the user to select. The translated word type designation table describes translated word type symbols corresponding to the selection items presented to the user.

Next, in step B4, the above step B3
When one is selected from the selection items displayed in step B5, the translated word type designation unit 9 searches the translated word type symbol corresponding to the selected selected item from the translated word type designation table 10 in step B5. In, the translated word type flag indicated by the same symbol as the selected translated word type is turned on, and the setting of the translated word type by the translated word type designation table is completed.

The contents of the translated word type designation table are as shown in FIG. For example, from the selection items of the travel destination shown in the display screen example of FIG. When "Hong Kong" of No. 04 is selected, the NO. 04 The translation word type (B) corresponding to "Hong Kong" is searched. This (B) is a translated word type symbol indicating that it is British English. The translated word type designation unit 9 turns on the translated word type (B) flag of the translated word type switching flag, and sets the translated word type to British English.

[0054]

According to the interpreter of the first aspect, when converting a sentence in the first language into a bilingual sentence in the second language, the type of the translated word to be translated is designated in advance, and the word in the bilingual sentence is designated. The translated words are swapped according to the user's specification only at the places where the translation is possible. Therefore, the memory can be efficiently used without increasing the number of bilingual sentences stored in the bilingual database, and many translations can be performed according to the purpose of the user. A type of bilingual text can be provided. As a result, various contents can be set as the translated word type, and it is possible to provide a bilingual sentence that covers a wide range of expressions, reflecting the characteristics of each translated language.

According to the interpreting apparatus of the second aspect, since the translated word type is specified by using the translated word type specification table, an appropriate translated word switching flag is set without the user directly designating the translated word type. It is possible to obtain the type of parallel translation required by the user. As a result, even a user who does not understand the second language can obtain an appropriate bilingual sentence.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an interpreter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a parallel translation database according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a word dictionary of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a translated word type designation table according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Selection designation section 2 Storage section 3 Output section 4 Conversion section 5 Word change section 6 Bilingual database 7 Word dictionary 8 Translation word switching flag 9 Translation word type designation section 10 Translation word type designation table

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A selection and designation unit selects a sentence in a first language to be translated from a bilingual database that stores a sentence in a first language and a corresponding bilingual sentence in a second language.
The language sentence and the corresponding parallel translation data are stored in the storage unit and output by the output unit, and the word of the predetermined portion in the selected first language sentence is replaced by the word changing unit, and the parallel translation of the word of the predetermined portion is converted into the word. An interpreter capable of being converted into an appropriate bilingual sentence by a conversion unit by being obtained from a dictionary, wherein the word dictionary stores a plurality of types of translated words of a second language corresponding to words of the first language, A flag setting unit that sets a translation word switching flag according to the type of translation word selected by the user is provided, and the conversion unit determines whether or not there is a word replaceable portion in the first language sentence, and the translation word is translated according to the translation word switching flag. An interpreting device, characterized in that a sentence of a first language is converted into a bilingual sentence of a translated word type by obtaining a translated word of the type from the word dictionary. 2. The interpreter according to claim 1, wherein the flag setting means has a translation word type designation table that indirectly designates a translation word type without requiring knowledge of the second language.