Translator support program, translator support device and translator support method

Abstract

A translator support device consists of a display device, an input device, and a main body to which these devices are connected. The main body has a CPU, a DRAM, a MD, and a HDD built-in. A translator support software is installed in the HDD. The translator support software consists of a program group and a data group that operate a computer as a device to support a translator. The translator support software includes a machine translation module, a dictionary database, a translation-memory-retrieval module, and a translation example database. When a translated phrase displayed on the display device is corrected, the translator support device retrieves units that include the correction portion from the database, reflects the correction to each of all the retrieved units.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a translator support device of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 through FIG. 9 are flowcharts for showing processes of a translator support program running on the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 shows one example of a working window;

FIG. 11 shows one example of data structure of the working table;

FIG. 12 shows one example of the working window when items are displayed in a layer display box;

FIG. 13 shows a result window after translation by a translation-memory-retrieval module;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for showing a layer generation process;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for showing a lower layer translation process;

FIG. 16 shows the working window in which the translation result in FIG. 13 are displayed;

FIG. 17 shows one example of data structure of a translation sample database in which original sentences including variables and translated sentences are stored;

FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B show specific examples of embedded symbols; and

FIG. 19 through FIG. 23 show examples of working windows displayed on the conventional translator support device.

Claims

1. A translator support program that operates a computer as a device comprising: means for storing an original phrase, a translated phrase and identifying information of each of units that are established as translation units in a original sentence, and identifying information of a unit in a next-upper layer that includes said units into storage so as to be related with one another;means for displaying an original phrase and a translated phrase of any of all units in said original sentence on a display device;means for retrieving units, when a user's instruction to correct a translated phrase displayed on said display device by said displaying means is accepted, that includes parts to be corrected from units established in said translated phrase as lower layers; andmeans for propagating the correction by repeating a process to reflect the correction to a translated phrase in each of units in all the layers retrieved by said retrieving means from the lowermost layer to the uppermost layer.

2. The translator support program according to claim 1, wherein said storing means stores an original phrase, a translated phrase, identifying information and attribute information of each of all units that are established in said original sentence, identifying information of a unit in a next-upper layer into storage so as to be related with one another; and wherein said propagating means repeats a process to reflect the correction to a translated phrase and a process to switch the attribute information to a predetermined attribute information in each of units in all the layers retrieved by said retrieving means from the lowermost layer to the uppermost layer.

3. The translator support program according to claim 2, wherein said attribute information defines whether a correction to a translated phrase is allowed or not, and said propagating means repeats said processes when the attribution information of the unit in the lowermost layer retrieved by said retrieving means defines that a correction is allowed.

4. The translator support program according to claim 3 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for locking/unlocking a unit that updates said attribute information, when a user's instruction to switch the attribute information of any unit of all units in said original sentence is accepted, of the unit that is stored in said storage to the instructed status.

5. The translator support program according to claim 1 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for replacing an embedded symbol, when a user's instruction to input an embedded symbol corresponding to a unit established in a next-lower layer in the translated phrase with respect to said translated phrase displayed in said display device by said displaying means is accepted, with the translated phrase of the unit corresponding to said embedded symbol in said next-lower layer; andmeans for updating the translated phrase in said storage with the replaced translated phrase.

6. The translator support program according to claim 1 wherein said displaying means displays an original phrase and a translated phrase of any unit on said display device and highlights units in the next-lower layer of said original and translated phrases.

7. The translator support program according to claim 6, wherein said displaying means assigns different highlight colors to the units in the next-lower layers when there are a plurality of units in the next-lower layers in said original and translated phrases.

8. The translator support program according to claim 1, wherein said displaying means displays an original phrase and a translated phrase of any unit on said display device and displays the whole of original sentence including said original phrase on said display device.

9. The translator support program according to claim 1, wherein said storing means holds a data structure for each of original sentences in said storage, said data structure stores an original phrase, a translated phrase and identifying information of a unit and identifying information of a unit in the next-upper layer for each of all units in each original sentence, and wherein said propagating means also performs a process to reflect said correction to translated phrases of units in said storage that are identical to the translated phrase to be corrected by the user's instruction among all units in said plurality of original sentences.

10. The translator support program according to claim 1 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for determining, when a user's instruction to enter an original phrase and a translated phrase displayed on said display device by said displaying means into a database of a translation-memory-retrieval module is accepted, whether a unit in a next-lower layer is established for said original and translated phrases or not: andmeans for replacing the unit in the next-lower layer for said original and translated phrases with the same variable when said determining means determines a unit in said next-lower layer is established; andmeans for entering them into said database so as to be related to one another.

11. The translator support program according to claim 1 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for entering, when a user's instruction to enter any of all units in said original sentence into a database of a translation-memory-retrieval module is accepted, the original phrase and the translated phrase instructed by the user into said database so as to be related to each other.

12. The translator support program according to claim 1 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for translating the original phrase displayed on said display device by a translation module when a user's instruction to verify the translated phrase displayed on said display device by said displaying means is accepted;means for extracting different units between said translated phrase displayed on said display device and the translation result generated by said translating means; andmeans for highlighting said different units extracted by said extracting means in said translated phrase displayed on said display device.

13. The translator support program according to claim 12, wherein said translation module is a machine translation module.

14. The translator support program according to claim 12, wherein said translation module is a translation-memory-retrieval module.

15. The translator support program according to claim 12, wherein said translating means tries to translate said original phrase displayed on said display device by a translation memory retrieval module, and translates said original phrase by a machine translation module when said translation-memory-retrieval module fails to translate.

16. A translator support program that operates a computer as a device comprising: a first storing means for storing an original phrase, an identifying information of each of units that are established as translation units in an original sentence, and identifying information of a unit in a next-upper layer that includes said units into storage so as to be related with one another;a second storing means for storing an original phrase and a translated phrase of each of units whose translation phrases are generated by translating said original phrases, among all the unit in said original sentence into said storage so as to be related with one another;a displaying means for displaying an original phrase of any unit among all the units in said original sentence;a translation-memory-retrieval means for retrieving, when a user's instruction to translate the original phrase displayed on said display device by said displaying means, a example phrase that is identical to or similar to said original phrase by a translation-memory-retrieval module;a translation-result-output means for displaying a translation example corresponding to the example phrase retrieved by said translation-memory-retrieval means on said display device as the translated phrase corresponding to said original phrase; anda layer-generation means for adding, when an example sentence retrieved by said translation-memory-retrieval means contains a variable, a portion in the original phrase corresponding to said variable as a unit in the next-lower layer into said storage so as to be related with said original phrase.

17. The translator support program according to claim 16 that operates a computer as a device further comprising: means for translating the original phrase of the unit that is added by said layer-generation means by a translation module;means for replacing said variable in the translation phrase displayed by said translation-result-output means on said display device with the translation result generated by said translating means; andmeans for storing the replaced translated phrase and the original phrase displayed on said display device into said storage as a pair.

18. A translator support device comprising: a storing portion for storing an original phrase, a translated phrase and identifying information of each of units that are established as translation units in a original sentence, and identifying information of a unit in a next-upper layer that includes said units so as to be related with one another;a displaying portion for displaying an original phrase and a translated phrase of any of all units in said original sentence;a retrieving portion for retrieving units, when a user's instruction to correct a translated phrase displayed on said displaying portion is accepted, that includes parts to be corrected from units established in said translated phrase as lower layers; anda propagating portion for propagating the correction by repeating a process to reflect the correction to a translated phrase in each of units in all the layers retrieved by said retrieving portion from the lowermost layer to the uppermost layer.

19. A translator support method comprising: a storing procedure for storing an original phrase, a translated phrase and identifying information of each of units that are established as translation units in a original sentence, and identifying information of a unit in a next-upper layer that includes said units into storage so as to be related with one another;a displaying procedure for displaying an original phrase and a translated phrase of any of all units in said original sentence on a display device;a retrieving procedure for making a computer retrieve units, when a user's instruction to correct a translated phrase displayed on said display device in said displaying procedure is accepted, that includes parts to be corrected from units established in said translated phrase as lower layers; anda propagating procedure for making a computer propagate the correction by repeating a process to reflect the correction to a translated phrase in each of units in all the layers retrieved in said retrieving procedure from the lowermost layer to the uppermost layer.