JPH10269223A - Translation service system and translation service providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to request retranslation more easily and move effectively for better translation result, by accepting a trnaslation request including contents, which is dish gncshable to be unnecessary, at the time of translation and showing specified contents among contents regarding the translation request together with a translation result. SOLUTION: A translation request reception part 101, when receiving a 1st translation request mail from a user, analyzes the translation request mail according to tags and writes it out to a received mail spool in a translation service data base 104. A translation service management part 102 actuates a translation engine 103 and performs machine translation according to information at respective parts in the translation service data 104. At this time, terms are extracted while the translation result is obtained. Then the translation request reception part 101 when receiving a retranslation request mail analyzes the retranslation request mail according to tags similarly to the 1st translation request mail. Therefore, the retranslation request can easily be made.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a translation service system and a translation service providing method for machine-translating a text sent using a network such as the Internet and returning the translated text to a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the enhancement of computer networks such as the personal computer network and the Internet, various services have been actively provided through computer networks.

[0003] In addition, natural language processing techniques using computers have been enhanced, and various document processing systems have been developed. In particular, machine translation systems that automatically translate one language into another different language have been put to practical use.

In such a situation, a document is received from a user using a network such as the Internet,
"Machine service" has begun to be provided, which translates the content by machine and returns a translation to the user.

However, in many cases, the original sent by the user to the translation service system by e-mail, CGI, or the like according to a predetermined format is determined based on some parameters (the style of the translated sentence, the terminology used, etc.). It simply sends the translated result back to the user. For this reason, when the user attempts to translate the original by partially modifying the original text or partially modifying the parameters, an electronic mail or the like in which all information such as the original text and parameters are newly written is used. It had to be created from the beginning and sent to the translation service system.

At this time, even if a very long original is to be translated again, it is necessary to resend the very long original via the Internet or the like.

[0007] Some translation services allow a user to translate a term in a text by specifying a translated word in advance. However, in this case as well, the specified contents of the translation are completely independent for each access to the translation service, and the management of the term and the translation is left to the user.

[0008] In a conventional translation service system,
When a user makes a translation request according to a predetermined format (format), a correct translation result can be obtained, but a correct translation result cannot be obtained if there is any error in the format.

In recent years, documents other than plain text, such as documents written in HTML and documents created by word processing software, have been generally sent by e-mail using MIME or the like. However, the conventional translation service system does not have a function of translating these non-plain text documents and returning them to the user.

[0010]

As described above, in the conventional translation service, when a user makes a retranslation request to obtain a better translation result, a new information in which all information such as parameter originals are newly embedded is newly added. It is necessary to create a new e-mail or the like and send it again, so that a request for retranslation cannot be easily made.

When making a re-translation request, the user analyzes the new translation result by himself and creates new translated word designation information by himself / herself together with the new translated word designation and the previous translated word designation. Therefore, there is a problem that a retranslation request must be created.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and realizes a more user-friendly interface when a user performs re-translation to obtain better translation results, thereby making the user easier. It is an object of the present invention to provide a translation service system and a translation service providing method capable of providing an environment in which a retranslation request can be made more efficiently and more effectively.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention (claim 1) provides:
Request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a document in a first language;
In a translation service system including a translation unit for translating into a document in a language and a presentation unit for presenting a translation result to a user, the request reception unit includes information unnecessary for translation (for example, a translation result, etc.) It is possible to receive a translation request by e-mail that may include one that can be distinguished as unnecessary (for example, the distinction is made by a tag), and the presenting unit sends the translation request together with the translation result to the translation request. It is also characterized in that predetermined contents (for example, original text, environment settings (style of translated text, technical term dictionary, etc.), translation designation, etc.) are presented to the user.

[0014] The user can make a retranslation request to the translation result including the above-mentioned contents relating to the translation request by sending a return mail.

According to the present invention (claim 2), a request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a part of a document in a first language, and translating the received document in the first language into a document in a predetermined second language In a translation service system including a translation unit that performs translation and a presentation unit that presents a translation result to a user, each part of the translation request (for example, an original sentence, environment setting (a style of a translated sentence, a technical term dictionary, etc.), translation word designation, etc.) ) Is provided with means for recognizing the beginning and the end of the tag by the inserted tag.

The tags may be inserted, for example, so as to sandwich the beginning and end of each part. Alternatively, a single tag may be inserted at the beginning of each part to indicate how many lines below it are included in the corresponding part.

When a user creates a translation request,
Tags can be added to indicate the beginning and end of each part of the translation request.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the translation service system according to the second aspect, when there is an error in a tag included in a translation request from a user, the error of the tag is corrected and processed. Means are provided.

The present invention (Claim 4) provides Claims 1 to 3
In the translation service system according to any one of the above, if a predetermined quotation mark exists at the beginning of a line of an electronic mail received as a translation request (for example, a return mail for performing a retranslation request), It is characterized in that predetermined processing is performed by regarding that the next of the mark is the head of the line.

The present invention (Claim 5) provides Claims 1 to 4
Means for storing a translation history, and information omitted in a received retranslation request (for example, a job number corresponding to a past translation request specified). If there is, before the translation, means for obtaining the omitted information from the translation history is provided.

The present invention (Claim 6) provides Claims 1 to 5
Means for judging the format of the original sentence of the received translation request and, if the format of the original sentence is not plain text, converting the original sentence to plain text prior to translation. Is further provided.

According to the present invention (claim 7), a translation request including at least a first language document is received, the received first language document is translated into a predetermined second language document, and the translation result is transmitted to the user. The translation service providing method of the translation service system presented in the
We accept translation requests by e-mail that may include those that can be distinguished as unnecessary for translation (such as translation results) (for example, the distinction is made by a tag). Translation is performed based on the portion excluding, and predetermined contents (for example, original text, environment settings (style of translated text, technical term dictionary, etc.), translation word designation, etc.) among the content related to the translation request together with the translation result. Is also presented to the user.

According to the present invention (claim 8), a request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a part of a document in a first language, and translating the received document in the first language into a document in a predetermined second language A translation service providing method for a translation service system, comprising: a translation unit that performs translation and a presentation unit that presents a translation result to a user. It is characterized by recognizing the beginning and end of a dictionary, etc.), translation word designation, etc.) by the inserted tags.

The tag may be inserted, for example, so as to sandwich the beginning and end of each part. Alternatively, a single tag may be inserted at the beginning of each part to indicate how many lines below it are included in the corresponding part.

According to the present invention (claim 9), in the translation service providing method according to claim 8, when an error is found in a tag included in a translation request from a user, the tag error is corrected and processed. It is characterized by doing.

According to the present invention (claim 10), in the translation service providing method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, an electronic mail received as a translation request (for example, a return mail for performing a retranslation request) If a predetermined quotation mark is present at the beginning of the line, the quotation mark is regarded as the beginning of the line.

According to the present invention (claim 11), in the translation service providing method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, the translation history is stored, and the received retranslation request (for example, a past translation request) is received. In the case where there is information which is omitted in the job number in which the job number is specified), the omitted information is obtained from the translation history prior to the translation.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the translation service providing method according to any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects, the format of the original of the received translation request is determined, and the format of the original is plain text. If not, the original text is converted to plain text prior to translation.

The inventions relating to the respective devices described above also hold as inventions relating to the method, and the inventions relating to the respective methods described above also hold as inventions relating to the device. The present invention is also realized as a machine-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the means.

According to the present invention (claims 1 and 7), the format for returning the translation result by e-mail or the like is similar to the format for the translation request. You can make a reply (a function of an e-mail tool) and make a retranslation request with only minor modifications.

According to the present invention (claims 1 and 7), when a user receives a translation result, instead of creating a new retranslation request mail from scratch, a reply mail is returned to the translation result return mail. , The retranslation request can be made.

According to the present invention (claims 2 and 8), a means for adding tag information when a user creates a translation request is provided on the translation service system side, and the translation service system side adds a tag to the tag existing in the translation request. The processing can be performed based on the processing.

According to the present invention (claims 2 and 8), when creating a translation request, the user can freely handle the format to some extent as long as the tag information is correctly recognized. become.

According to the present invention (claims 3 and 9), when a translation request is sent to the translation service system, even if there is an error in the tag information, processing can be performed after correcting the error. .

According to the present invention (claims 3 and 9), when creating and transmitting a translation request mail, the user can make a translation request even if there is an error in the tag information.

According to the present invention (claims 4 and 10), when a retranslation request is sent to the translation service system side, it can be processed ignoring the quote mark.

According to the present invention (claims 4 and 10), when a retranslation request mail is created as a reply (return) mail for the translation result return mail and transmitted, the quote mark is automatically displayed by an electronic mail tool or the like. Even if is attached, it becomes possible to request retranslation.

According to the present invention (claims 5 and 11), when there is no original text information or the like in the retranslation request mail, the original text or the like of the translation request that is the source of the retranslation request is extracted from the history information. , Which can be used as the original text of the retranslation request.

According to the present invention (claims 5 and 11), when a retranslation request mail is created and transmitted, a retranslation request can be made without resending the original text or the like.

In the present invention (claims 6 and 12), it is determined in what format the original text of the translation request mail is written, and if the original text is not written in plain text, it is added to the plain text. Convert and translate and send the translation result to the user.

According to the present invention (claims 6 and 12), a user can request a translation of a document written in a format other than plain text and receive a translation result from the translation service system.

As described above, according to the present invention, a user-friendly interface is realized when a user performs retranslation to obtain a better translation result, thereby enabling the user to more easily and more effectively. It is possible to provide an environment in which a retranslation request can be made. As a result,
The ease of use when the user uses the translation service is improved. In particular, the ease of use when making a retranslation request to obtain a better translation result is improved.

[0043]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, an English-Japanese translation service for translating English into Japanese will be described as an example. Of course, the present invention provides a Japanese-English translation service for translating Japanese into English.
The same applies to a translation service that translates various other languages into other languages.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a translation service system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the translation service system according to the present embodiment includes a translation request receiving unit 101, a translation service management unit 102, a translation engine 103, a translation service database 104, a translation result presentation unit 105, and WWW.
Server 106, WWW page database 107, CG
An I decoder 108 is provided.

The translation request receiving unit 101 receives translation request contents such as original texts and parameters through communication means such as the Internet, and is realized by software or the like.

The translation service management unit 102 manages translation requests. More specifically, it performs translation job management, document management, and the like, and is realized by software or the like.

In job management, for example, a job number (a branch number is added in a retranslation request) is issued for each translation request from a user, and the job number and user information (user name or user ID or e-mail address) are issued. Such,
Or a plurality of these; below, user I
D), the translation request time and the like are recorded in the translation service database 104, and are updated as necessary.

In the document management, for example, for each job number, an original sentence, translation parameters (for example, style designation, translation word designation, etc.), a translation, etc.
Record in 4 and update as needed.

The translation engine 103 translates the original text according to the contents written in the translation service database 104 and outputs the result, and is realized by software or the like. The method of machine translation is not particularly limited, and any of the currently known methods may be used.

The translation service database 104 is for storing the original sentence of the translation request and the translated sentence of the translation result for a certain period of time, and is constituted by a file system or the like on a computer disk or the like.

The translation result presentation unit 105 transmits the translation result stored in the translation service database 104 to the user, and is realized by software or the like.

The WWW server 106 provides a user with an interface of the translation service system through the WWW, and is realized by software or the like.

The WWW page database 107 stores the WW
A homepage presented to the user by the W server 106 is stored, and is configured by a file system or the like on a disk of a computer.

The CGI decoder 108 is the WWW server 1
06 for interactively exchanging information with the user, and is realized by software or the like. In addition, CGI (Common Gateway Inte
rface), for example, in the document “HTML & CG
I Primer, "Noboru Sasaki, Masahiro Ota, and Mami Fujisaki (AI Publishing, published April 26, 1996).

In order to use the translation service system shown in FIG. 1, a computer on the user side needs an environment in which a WWW browser and electronic mail can be used. The computer on the user side and the translation service system are connected by a network such as the Internet.

The translation service system may be realized by one computer, or may be realized by being distributed to a plurality of computers.

A translation request receiving unit 101, a translation service management unit 102, a translation engine 103, a translation service database 104, a translation result presentation unit 105, and W
WWW server 106, WWW page database 107,
It is preferable that communication with the CGI decoder 108 can be performed without using an external network such as the Internet, but communication may be performed only via an external network such as the Internet.

First, a user creates a translation request,
The interface of the translation service system will be described according to the flow of transmission and processing of the translation request. FIG. 2 shows an example of a processing procedure on the user side.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a WWW page screen displayed on the user terminal for receiving a translation request by e-mail. When the user accesses the WWW server 106 using a WWW browser, the WWW server 106 retrieves the screen from the WWW page database 107, the data is transferred to the user terminal, and the WWW browser used by the user is displayed. It is displayed above (step S201). This page is CGI
Allows the user to interact with the WW
Information can be exchanged with the W server. In addition,
A general WWW browser used for the user terminal may be used.

In FIG. 3, a technical term dictionary designating section 301
Is for the user to specify a technical term dictionary to be used for the translation processing, and is a radio button so that one technical term dictionary can be selected.

The style designation section 302 is for the user to designate the style of the translated sentence (such as a key, a masquerade key, etc.), and is a menu for selection.

The translated word designation section 303 is used to designate a translated word used in the translation process. For example, as shown in FIG.
user = computer ".

The original sentence input section 304 is for the user to input an English sentence to be translated.

The transmission instructing unit 305 is for instructing the user to transmit the data input on this page to the WWW server 106. Here, by pressing the “translation request” button, the information input by the user in the technical term dictionary designation unit 301 to the original sentence input unit 304 is transmitted from the WWW browser on the user's computer to the WWW server 106.
To be sent to

In FIG. 3, in addition to the "translation request" button, an "input redo" button is provided, but this is merely an example, and various other buttons may be provided. .

The WWW server 106 processes the information sent from the WWW browser by using the CGI decoder 108, and sends the data in which the information is embedded in the translation request mail support page extracted from the WWW page database 107 to the user terminal. Then, the support page is displayed on the WWW browser used by the user (step S20).
2). FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen of the translation request mail support page displayed on the user terminal.

In FIG. 4, the translation environment 401 (tag <
MTSVC_EJTRANS_ENVIRON> to tag </ MTSVC_EJTRANS_ENVIRON>
Up to), information specified by the user with the technical term dictionary designation unit 301 and the style designation unit 302 in FIG. 3 is displayed.

Translation term designation section 402 (tag <MTSVC_E
JTRANS_TERMS> to tag </ MTSVC_
EJTRANS_TERMS>), the translated word designation information designated by the user in the translated word designation unit 303 of FIG. 3 is displayed.

Original text part 403 (tag <MTSVC_SRC
_ENGLISH> to tag </ MTSVC_SRC_
ENGLISH>), the original text to be translated input by the user in the original text input unit 304 of FIG. 3 is displayed.

The symbol # on the right side of each tag is a comment field, is not a part of the tag, and is not a part of the content of the translation request.

Next, the user can use an e-mail tool (for example, Internet Mail of Microsoft Corporation or Netscape Mail of Netscape Corporation).
Is launched on the user's computer, and the body of the email is WWW
Translation environment section 401 to original sentence section 403 (tag <MTSVC_EJTRANS_ENVI) displayed on the browser
RON> to tag </ MTSVC_SRC_ENGLI
SH>) (see FIG. 4) is input as it is using copy and paste or the like, and a translation request mail is created (step S203).

As shown in FIG. 4, when a specific portion (in FIG. 4, one of two portions modified with an underline) is clicked with a mouse or the like, W
An electronic mail tool possessed by the WW browser may be activated.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a translation request mail created by the user.

In FIG. 5, translation environment section 501 (tag <
MTSVC_EJTRANS_ENVIRON> to tag </ MTSVC_EJTRANS_ENVIRON>
Up to), stylistic information and technical term dictionary information are entered.

Translation term specifying section 502 (tag <MTSVC_E
JTRANS_TERMS> to tag </ MTSVC_
EJTRANS_TERMS>), translation word designation information is entered.

Original text 503 (tag <MTSVC_SRC
_ENGLISH> to tag </ MTSVC_SRC_
Until ENGLISH>), the original English text to be translated is entered.

The last signature is the one automatically added by the electronic mail tool. The signature may or may not be added automatically depending on the settings of the e-mail tool. Additional information outside the tag (eg, a signature) has no meaning in a translation request.

After the copy and paste from the WWW browser is completed, the user can freely modify the text of the translation request mail, for example, by using the tag <MTSVC_EJT.
RANS_TERMS> to tag </ MTSVC_EJ
Translation designation part 502 up to TRANS_TERMS>
To specify a new translation, or tag <MTSVC_SR
C_ENGLISH> to tag </ MTSVC_SRC
An original sentence can be newly added in the original sentence portion 503 up to _ENGLISH>.

When the user sends a translation request mail according to the tagged format to a predetermined address (step S204), a first translation request is made.

The translation service system performs a translation process in response to a translation request from a user (step S).
205).

Then, the translation result is sent back to the user terminal by e-mail or the like (step S206).

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show examples of the translation result return mail returned to the user side.

In FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG.
01 (tag <MTSVC_EJTRANS_RESUL
T> to tag </ MTSVC_EJTRANS_RES
ULT>), the translation result is written in pairs with the original sentence.

Term extraction result section 602 (tag <MTSVC
_TERMS_EXTRACT_EJ> to tag </ M
TSVC_TERMS_EXTRACT_EJ>)
Then, the result of term extraction is written. The term extraction result written here is estimated by the translation service system to be one of the words and phrases included in the original sentence that has an important meaning for the document. It is recommended to specify.

Translation environment section 603 (tag <MTSVC_E
JTRANS_ENVIRON> to tag </ MTSV
In C_EJTRANS_ENVIRON>), the translation environment specified by the user in the translation mail is described.
Tag specifying translation environment section 603 (<MTSVC_EJ
TRANS_ENVIRON> and </ MTSVC_EJ
TRANS_ENVIRON>) is the same tag as the tag used to specify the translation environment section 501 in the translation request mail in FIG. In the translation environment section 603, a translation job number (jobID portion) assigned to each translation request of the user by the translation service system is written. This translation job number is used when making a re-translation request.

Translation term designation section 604 (tag <MTSVC_E
JTRANS_TERMS> to tag </ MTSVC_
EJTRANS_TERMS>) describes translated word designation information designated by the user at the time of a translation request. Tag (<MTSVC_EJTR) that specifies translation specification section 604
ANS_TERMS> and </ MTSVC_EJTRAN
S_TERMS>) is the same tag as the tag used to specify the translated word specifying section 502 in the translation request mail of FIG.

Original text 605 (tag <MTSVC_SRC
_ENGLISH> to tag </ MTSVC_SRC_
ENGLISH>) contains the original English text to be translated. Tag (<M
TSVC_SRC_ENGLISH> and </ MTSVC
_SRC_ENGLISH>) is the same as the tag used to specify the original text part 503 in the translation request mail of FIG.

In step S207, the user receives the translation result from the translation service system by e-mail. When the translation result is almost as expected, the translation job is completed. On the other hand, if it is determined that a better translation result may be obtained due to a change in translation conditions such as addition of a translation word designation or a change in the designation of a technical term dictionary and / or modification of the original sentence, a retranslation request is issued. An e-mail is created (step S208), and a translation request is made to the translation service system again.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show examples of retranslation request mails.

It is created by replying to the translation result return mail received from the translation service system. Normally, an electronic mail tool can semi-automatically create a reply mail by a simple operation such as pressing a return button. In the retranslation request mails shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 11, ">" is added at the beginning of each line, because the reply of the translation result return mail received from the translation service system is performed. Is created. When replying (replying) by e-mail and quoting a part or all of the original e-mail, generally, for example, a quote mark such as ">" is used to cite the quoted part and the responder. It is usual to distinguish parts. This is usually done automatically by an email tool. FIG.
In FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, since the retranslation request mail is created by citing the full text of the translation result return mail, quotation marks are attached at the heads of all the lines. In addition,
Quotation marks often use ">", but are not limited to ">". For example, using ">>" or "|" or part of the address of the sender of the mail
Aku>"and the like are general, but not limited to these. In some cases, a quotation mark may not be used. If an e-mail reply function is used, setting of an e-mail address Is often done automatically.

The format of the re-translation request mail as illustrated in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 is almost the same as the format of the first translation request mail as illustrated in FIG. Information is organized, but the following points are different.

First, almost all lines begin with a quote mark.

Second, the translation job number is entered in the translation environment section 701.

Third, information that has not been changed since the first translation can be omitted. For the omitted information, the translation service system uses the translation job number written in the retranslation request email,
Since the translation service database 104 can be searched and supplemented by the information at the time of the previous translation request, the user does not always need to explicitly specify.

Fourth, the original text section 703 and the translation environment section 7
01, the order of the translation designation part 702 may be different from that of the first translation request mail. Translation request mail (see FIG. 5) and retranslation request mail (FIGS. 9, 10, and 1)
1) is distinguished not by the order but by the tag, so that the order may be reversed.

Fifth, in the retranslation request mail, information that is not directly related to the translation request, such as the term extraction result, the previous translation result, and the description outside the tags, is input without being removed. May be. Again, the user does not necessarily need to remove information that is not directly relevant, as it is outside the tags representing the required information and is simply ignored by the translation service system.

As described above, the user edits the semi-automatically generated re-translation request mail by operating the e-mail tool, thereby creating a re-translation mail for obtaining a desired translation result. . For example, FIG.
The value of the technical term designating part (TechDic: part) of the translation environment part 701 in FIG. 10 and FIG.
By changing from on to, for example, Internet, the technical term dictionary used for translation can be changed from a technical dictionary in the information processing field to a technical term dictionary in the Internet field, for example. Further, based on the recommendation of the term extraction result, “OpenWindows = open window” can be newly added to the translated word designation unit 702 as shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 11. If necessary, an error (spelling mistake, etc.) in the original sentence written in the original sentence portion 703 can be corrected.

As described above, in this re-translation request mail, the translation environment number 701 has the translation job number entered in the first translation result return e-mail. By using this translation job number, the translation service system 1
04 can be accessed.

As described above, in the retranslation request mail, information that has not been changed since the previous translation request can be omitted. However, if the original text to be translated has not been changed from the previous time, the original text portion 703 is omitted. Being able to do is important. Whereas the translation environment section 701 and the translated word designation section 702 usually do not become very large, the original sentence section 703 becomes very large when the original sentence to be translated is very long. In this case, the cost of sending the retranslation request mail on the Internet or the like (charging, network load, etc.) increases. If there is no change in the original text to be translated from the previous translation request, the user can delete the original text part 703 from the retranslation request mail and omit it.

When the user sends the retranslation request mail to the same address as the first translation request mail (step S204), a second translation request is made.

The translation service system performs processing in response to a translation request from the user (step S205), and the translation result is returned to the user by e-mail or the like (step S206).

In step S207, the user receives the second translation result by e-mail, and if the translation result is almost as expected, the translation job ends.
If it is determined that there is a possibility that a better translation result may be obtained due to a change in translation conditions such as addition of a translation term specification or a change in the designation of a technical term dictionary and / or modification of the original text, a re-translation request mail is again sent. (Step S
208), and a third translation request is made. Since then
The translation request can be repeated any number of times as needed by the user.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the structure of the translation service database. As described above, the translation service database is constituted by a file system on a disk of a computer or the like. More specifically, the entire translation service database 104 is constituted by one directory on the file system. Translation service database 104
Are the received mail spool 801, the original text spool 802,
Control information data section 803, translated word designation information data section 80
4. Translation sentence spool 805, term extraction information data section 806
, Each of which is configured as a subdirectory of a directory in which the translation service database 104 is configured.

The received mail spool 801 is for storing a result of analyzing a translation request mail from a user.

The original text spool 802 is for storing the result of extracting the contents of the original text from the received mail spool 801.

The control information data section 803 stores control information (user's mail address,
This is for storing the result of extracting the translation job number.

The translated word designation information data section 804 is for storing the result of extracting the contents of the translated word designation section from the received mail spool 801.

The translated sentence spool 805 is for storing the translation result.

The term extraction information data section 806 is for storing term extraction results. In each component of the translation service database 104, there is a file whose name is the translation job number assigned by the translation request receiving unit 101, and information on each translation job is stored in the file.

The operation of the translation service system will be described below in accordance with the flow of the processing of the translation service system in response to a translation request from the user. In FIG.
4 shows an example of a processing procedure of a translation service system.

When receiving the first translation request mail from the user, the translation request receiving unit 101 shown in FIG. 1 analyzes the translation request mail based on the tag, and outputs the user's mail address, translation designation information, original text information, etc. Extract the necessary information,
The data is written to the received mail spool 801 in the translation service database 104 (step S901).

At this time, information outside the tag indicating that necessary information is described (for example, a user's signature) is ignored. At this time, a unique translation job number is assigned to the translation request from the user in the translation service system, and this translation job number is used for all subsequent translation processing, translation result mail return, re-translation processing, etc. Is managed using. Also, since each part is explicitly specified in the translation request mail by using tags, it is necessary to analyze correctly even if the original text information part, the translated word specification part, the translation environment part, etc. are arranged in any order. Can be. In analyzing the translation request mail, it is preferable to correct an error in the tag information input by the user as described later (see FIG. 15).

Next, in step S 902, when a new translation request is written in the received mail spool 801, the translation service management unit 102 in FIG. 1 extracts original text information from the new translation request and stores it in the original text spool 802 in the translation service database 104. Write it out. At this time, if the original text information is encoded, it is decoded and converted into plain text, and then written to the original text spool 802. Also,
Receives control information (user's mail address, user ID, translation job number, translation request date and time, translation request method (for example, by e-mail or using CGI), technical term dictionary designation information, style designation information, etc.) Take out from spool 801 and translate service database 104
It is written to the control information data section 803 in the middle. Further, the translated word designation information is extracted from the received mail spool 801 and written into the translated word designation information data section 804 in the translation service database 104.

When the writing to the original sentence spool 802, the writing to the control data unit 803, and the writing to the translation word designation information data unit 804 are completed, the translation service management unit 102 activates the translation engine 103 and activates the translation service database 104. Machine translation is performed in accordance with the information in each section (step S903). At this time, not only a translation result is obtained, but term extraction is also performed. The translation result is written in the translation sentence spool 805 in the translation service database 104. The term extraction results are stored in the translation service database 1
04 is written to the term extraction information data section 806.

When the machine translation and term extraction are completed, the translation result presentation unit 105 in FIG. 1 stores the translated sentence spool 805, the term extraction information data unit 806, the control information data unit 803, the translated word designation information data in the translation service database 104. The section 804 refers to the original text spool 802, and transmits a translation result return mail in the format of FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 to the user (step S904).

Upon receiving the retranslation request mail from the user, the translation request receiving unit 101 shown in FIG. 1 analyzes the retranslation request mail based on the tag as in the case of the first translation request mail (step S1). S901).

At the time of analysis, regarding a line having a quotation mark (such as, but not limited to, “>”, “>>”, “|”, or “honyaku>”) at the beginning of the line, Analysis is performed assuming that immediately after is the beginning of the line. This allows lines with and without quote marks to be treated in the same way as if the quote mark had never been present.

Also, when analyzing the translation request mail, the translation request receiving unit 101 firstly starts with the translation environment unit (50 in FIG. 5).
1 and 701) in FIG. 10 to check whether the translation job number is entered. If the translation job number is not entered, it is determined that this is a new translation request mail.

When analyzing the mail header of the translation request mail or the retranslation request mail, the user's mail address is taken out. If it is determined that the mail is the retranslation request mail, it is stored in the translation service database 104. Then, the control information data section 803 is accessed to check the consistency between the translation job number written in the retranslation request mail and the mail address of the user. If the consistency check succeeds, it is treated as a retranslation request mail as it is, but if the consistency check fails, it is determined that the translation job number is incorrect and it is a new translation request mail Treat as In any case, the translation request receiving unit 101
As in the case of the first translation request, the user's mail address, translation designation information, original text information, and the like are written to the received mail spool 801 in the translation service database 104. At this time, if there is any omitted information, it is not written out.

In the case of a re-translation request, the previous translation job number is continuously used as it is. Strictly speaking, the job number assigned at the first translation request is, for example, 10056.
If it is 2, the translation job number in the retranslation request is 1
5662-2 and is managed by assigning a branch number (if there is a third translation request, 100562-
3 and the same applies to the fourth and subsequent times). The branch number is used only inside the system, the user is notified only of the portion excluding the branch number, and the user may be allowed to write the portion excluding the branch number when requesting retranslation. The number may also be notified, and a branch number may be written when a retranslation request is made.

Also, the retranslation request mail may include information that is not directly related to the new translation, such as the previous translation result and the previous term extraction result. Is out of the tag indicating that it is described, it is ignored and is not written out to the received mail spool 801.

When the re-translation request is written in the received mail spool 801, the translation service management section 102 in FIG.
Then, the original text information, the control information, and the translation designation information are extracted, and the original text spool 802 and the control information
03, write in the translated word designation information data section 804 in the same way as at the time of the first translation request. However, if there is any missing information that is omitted, the translation service database 104 is searched using the translation job number, and the missing information is supplemented by the information at the time of the previous translation request (step S902). ).

Hereinafter, machine translation and term extraction are executed (step S903), and the retranslation result is transmitted to the user by e-mail by the translation result presentation unit 105 (step S9).
04) is performed in the same manner as the first translation request, and the second translation is completed. The format of the translation result return mail sent to the user is the same as that of the first translation request. When adopting a configuration for notifying the user also of the branch number,
The translation job number has a branch number.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a translation request mail when the original text to be translated is not plain text. FIG.
In 4, at the beginning of the original text, MIME-Version: 1.0 Content -Type: application / octet-stresm; name
= "NEW YORK.doc" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Descrirtion: NEW YORK.doc. Although there is a description doc (△△△ document creation tool), this is not a part of the original text to be translated, but is a header part of the original text part which indicates the format of the original text to be translated, and is a MIME (Multipurpose Interpose).
net Mail Extensions). Regarding MIME, for example, the document "Internet User's Guide Revised Edition"
Ed Krol, translated by Jun Murai, ISBN4-900
718-12-2 or "SUPER ASCII
July 1996, "ASCII, pp. 11
This is described in detail in 5-169.

More specifically, by using this header, the original text to be translated is not a plain text, but a general document creation tool △△△ (for example, Mic) used by the user.
Microsoft WORKS, Inc., Microsoft Word, etc.). A file named doc, which is encoded using the method of base64. By using this MIME format, a translation request can be made not only for plain text, but also for binary data documents created by various applications. The user only has to encode the original text data to be translated based on this MIME format and insert it into the original text part of the translation request mail. On the side of the translation service system, when the translation service management unit 102 confirms that a MIME header is added at the time of extracting the original text information from the received mail spool, the translation unit is decoded and converted into plain text. After the conversion, write to the original text spool.

In the original text part, in addition to a document written by the above-described general document creation tool, for example, in the case of an HTML document, MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text / html Content-Transfer- Encodin
By writing g: 7bit at the beginning, a document written in HTML can be sent as it is as an original to be translated.

[0129] Since this original text part does not follow a special format but follows the widely used MIME format, the user is not limited to the above two exemplified documents.
Any type of document can be encoded according to the MIME format and sent as the original to be translated.

Further, on the translation service system side, for example, not only a decoder for Word and a decoder for HTML described above are prepared, but also an arbitrary type of decoder is added as needed, so that various types of original texts can be read. It can correspond to the format. The determination of which decoder should be used to convert the text into plain text is made by referring to the header of the original text portion written in the MIME format.

If the original text part does not have the above-mentioned MIME header, it is determined that the original text part is written in plain text, and the translation service management unit 102 changes the received mail spool 801 from the received mail spool 801 as it is.
2

The contents of the encoded original shown in FIG. 14 are shown as examples only for explanation, and do not represent actual data.

As described above, when creating the first translation request mail, the user can copy and paste the contents of the translation request creation support page (see FIG. 4) displayed on the WWW browser. Copy to the e-mail tool, but at that time there was a mistake in copy and paste, or there was a user in an environment where copy and paste was not possible. An error may occur in the tag information due to a typographical error at the time of transcription. As described above, in the translation service system of the present embodiment, the tag plays an important role when analyzing a translation request from a user or when returning a translation result. Therefore, if the user makes a mistake in inputting a tag, a situation occurs in which a translation result cannot be obtained correctly as it is. For this reason, the translation request receiving unit 101 is provided with a function of correcting a user's tag input error.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for correcting a tag error in translation request receiving section 101. 1 of the mail received from the user using FIG.
A procedure for correcting a tag error in a row will be described.

In step S1101 in FIG. 15, it is checked whether the current line is included in a set of tags defined in advance by the system. If the tag is included in the set of tags defined in advance, the process ends because the tag is correctly recognized. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1102.

In step S1102, the tag correction table as shown in FIG. 16, for example, is searched to determine whether the current line is located on the left side of any entry in the tag correction table. If it does not exist on the left side of any entry of the tag correction table, step S110
Proceed to 4. If it exists on the left side of an entry in the tag correction table, the process proceeds to step S1103.

In step S1103, the current row is replaced with the correct tag of the entry on the right side of the tag correction table, and the processing ends. In step S1104, it is determined that the current line is not a tag line, and the process ends.

By doing so, even if the user makes a mistake in inputting the tag, the translation process can be performed correctly as long as the tag is registered as an error candidate in the tag correction table. In addition, by making the length of the tag long enough to have redundancy, the tag information can be incorrectly corrected,
It is possible to eliminate the possibility that a sufficient number of error candidates cannot be registered in the tag correction table.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a term extraction result in this embodiment. Term extraction refers to words contained in the original sentence that are presumed to have important meaning for the document, but the words are not registered as headwords in the translation dictionary, or the target word is specified. It is a function to list those that have not been done. The basis for determining that the document has an important meaning can be based on the fact that the number of times (frequency) appearing in the document is large.

In the first two examples of FIG. 17, in the original sentence (English sentence), the phrase “service provider” is 18 times, and the phrase “serial bus” is 13 times.
However, since no heading as a compound word was found in the translation word dictionary, the translations of the constituent words were combined and the translated words "service provider" and "continuous bus" were output. Finally, in one example, “h
The word "ostname" appeared ten times, but because it was not in the translation dictionary as a headword, "h
ostname "is output.

The user refers to this extraction result and adds the contents of FIG. 18 to the translated word designation section so far. When the user adds “service provider” to “service provider” and “serial bus” to “service provider”, It can be seen that a more appropriate translation can be obtained by using the translation of “host name” for “serial bus” and “hostname”.

Note that the term extraction result may be always presented in addition to the translation result, or the translation and term extraction may be performed only when the user requests term extraction. Further, the user can select a desired one from (1) a service providing both a translation result and a term extraction result, (2) a translation only service, and (3) a term extraction only service. Good. When only term extraction is performed, only the minimum parsing required for term extraction may be performed. Further, an embodiment in which the translation service system does not have a term extraction function is also possible.

The tags exemplified in the present embodiment are merely examples, and other tags having various functions can be arbitrarily provided as needed.

In this embodiment, the tags are inserted so as to sandwich the beginning and end of each part.
One tag may be inserted, and various other methods are conceivable.

The translation parameters exemplified in the present embodiment are merely examples, and other various translation parameters can be arbitrarily provided.

Further, when creating a translation request mail from the translation request mail creation support page of FIG. 4, copy-and-paste is used.
on Programming Interface)
Is supported, it is possible to send W
It is also possible to pass the contents of the WW browser. Note that M
For the API, see, for example, the document “Inside Map
i (Microsoft Programming S
eries), Microsoft Press, 1
It is described in detail in ISBN 1572313129 ", issued September 996.

Also, for example, in FIG. 1, the translation request receiving unit 101 is connected to the WWW server 106 and the CGI decoder 108.
, And the translation request can be received from the user by CGI. For example, in the example described above, when the user accesses the WWW server 106 using the WWW browser, a column for describing the user's mail address is further provided on the page shown in FIG. By inputting the information and pressing the "translation request" button, the information input by the user is sent from the WWW browser on the user's computer to the WWW server 106, and the information sent from the WWW browser is sent to the WWW server 106. By using the CGI decoder 108 to receive a translation request.

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the translation request is received from the user by the CGI, and the received information is passed from the WWW server 106 to the translation request receiving unit 101. And a translation request using CGI. In this case, for example, if the user
When accessing the server 106, it may be possible to specify which method to select.

In the above-described embodiment, the electronic mail is used for returning the translation result.
It is also possible to use WW pages or FTP.

By the way, in the embodiment described above, in retranslation, either the entire original is transmitted, or the original is omitted and the corresponding original stored in the translation service database is used. In the case where only a part of the original text is to be corrected, only the part to be corrected may be notified by using a tag for designating the corrected part.

For example, if the original sentence is omitted from the translation request, the corresponding original sentence is searched and used from the translation service database as described above, and if there is no tag for designating a correction portion, only the written original sentence is translated. set to target. On the other hand, if there is a tag that specifies only the correction part, the one obtained by applying the correction described in the part sandwiched by the tag to the corresponding original sentence stored in the translation service database is used.

As one method of instructing the correction, a method of designating a character or a character string to be replaced in the original original text and a character or a character string after the replacement can be considered.

As another method, at the time of returning the first translation result, the original sentence is divided into an appropriate number of chunks by paragraphs and the like, a serial number is assigned to each chunk portion, and the user is allowed to edit the portion to be corrected. Only the serial number tag and the corrected sentence are sent as a pair.

Various other methods are conceivable.

Each of the above functions can be realized as software. Further, the present invention can be embodied as a machine-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described procedures or means.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented with various modifications within the technical scope thereof.

[0157]

According to the present invention, since the support is provided so that the user can easily create the retranslation request, the service can be provided so that the user can make the retranslation request more easily and more effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a translation service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of a translation process as viewed from a user;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a translation request reception page.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a translation request mail creation support page

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a translation request mail

FIG. 6 shows an example of a translation result return mail.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a translation result return mail (the continuation of FIG. 6);

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a translation result return mail (a continuation of FIG. 7).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a retranslation request mail

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a retranslation request mail (continuation of FIG. 9).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a retranslation request mail (continuation of FIG. 10).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a translation service database.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the translation service system.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a translation request mail

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of a tag correction process;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a tag correction table.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a term extraction result

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a translated word designation content to be added;

[Explanation of symbols]

 101: Translation request receiving unit 102: Translation service management unit 103: Translation engine 104: Translation service database 105: Translation result presentation unit 106: WWW server 107: WWW page database 108: CGI decoder 301: Technical term dictionary designation unit 302: Style Designation part 303 ... Translation word designation part 304 ... Original text input part 501,401,603,701 ... Translation environment part 502,402,604,702 ... Translation word designation part 503,403,605,703 ... Original text part 601 ... Translation result part 602 ... Term extraction result section 801. Received mail spool 802. Original text spool 803... Control information data section 804.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a first language document, a translation means for translating the received first language document into a predetermined second language document, and a user Wherein the request receiving means receives a translation request by e-mail which may include information unnecessary for translation and which is not necessary for translation. The translation service system, wherein the presenting means presents to the user predetermined content of the content relating to the translation request together with the translation result. 2. A request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a part of a document in a first language; a translating means for translating the received document in the first language into a document in a predetermined second language;
A translation service system comprising presentation means for presenting a translation result to a user, comprising: means for recognizing the beginning and end of each part of the translation request by an inserted tag. 3. A translation service system according to claim 2, further comprising means for correcting an error in the tag included in the translation request from the user and processing the error. . 4. When a predetermined quotation mark is present at the beginning of a line of an e-mail received as a translation request, predetermined processing is performed by regarding that the quotation mark is next to the beginning of the line. The translation service system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. A means for storing a translation history and a means for obtaining the omitted information from the translation history before translation if there is information omitted in the received retranslation request. The translation service system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: 6. A format of an original sentence of the received translation request is determined.
6. The translation service system according to claim 1, further comprising means for converting the original text into plain text before translation if the format of the original text is not plain text. . 7. A translation service system for receiving a translation request including at least a first language document, translating the received first language document into a predetermined second language document, and presenting a translation result to a user. A translation service providing method that accepts a translation request by e-mail that may include information that is unnecessary for translation and that can be distinguished as unnecessary for translation. A translation service providing method comprising: performing translation based on a portion excluding the above; and presenting, to the user, predetermined content of the content related to the translation request together with the translation result. 8. A request receiving means for receiving a translation request including at least a part of a document in a first language, a translation means for translating the received document in the first language into a document in a predetermined second language,
What is claimed is: 1. A translation service providing method for a translation service system, comprising: a presentation unit for presenting a translation result to a user, wherein a translation start and end of each part of the translation request is recognized by an inserted tag. Service delivery method. 9. The translation service providing method according to claim 8, wherein when there is an error in a tag included in a translation request from a user, the error of the tag is corrected and processed. 10. A method according to claim 7, wherein when a predetermined quotation mark is present at the beginning of a line of the e-mail received as a translation request, the next of the quotation mark is regarded as the beginning of the line. 10. The method for providing a translation service according to any one of items 9 to 9. 11. When the translation history is stored and there is information omitted in the received retranslation request, it is necessary to obtain the omitted information from the translation history prior to translation. Claims 7 to 10
The method for providing a translation service according to any one of the above. 12. The format of the original sentence of the received translation request is determined, and if the format of the original sentence is not plain text,
The translation service providing method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the original text is converted into plain text before translation.