USE OF ENGLISH PHONETICS TO WRITE NON-ROMAN CHARACTERS

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system, method, and apparatus which permits users to create text documents using a particular non-Roman character set, with a Roman character keyboard. A user creating a document in a non-Roman character set phonetically types the sounds of the words using the Roman characters into an input graphical user interface. The typed characters are searched for in a transliteration database which correlates clusters of Roman characters which mimic the non-Roman characters to the respective non-Roman characters. The non-Roman character corresponding to the typed characters is then printed in an output graphical user interface.

Description: SE OF ENGLISH PHONETICS TO WRITE NON-ROMAN CHARACTERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to computer system input / output, and more particularly to a system, method, and apparatus for writing non-Roman characters using a Roman character keyboard. Description of Related Art The primary source of textual inputs to a computer system is a keyboard. The keyboard is a useful tool in permitting users to create textual documents, such as desktop publications and E-mail messages. The words of the English language are made up of 26 characters, known collectively as the Roman character set. Therefore, the user can add English words to a document by sequentially typing the Roman characters making up the words. Users can also create textual documents in other languages (e.g., French, Spanish) which include the Roman character set in the same manner. Creating text in a language which does not use the Roman character set is more complex. The text in languages such as Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic, to name a few, use different language-specific character sets. One possible solution is to reconfigure the keyboard for the language-specific character set. This has generally been implemented by using a software driver which reconfigures the keyboard to correlate to different character sets. However, this approach has a number of drawbacks. Reconfiguration of the keyboard requires a user to undergo a learning period before information input proficiency is reached. Additionally, reasonable typing speeds have only been achieved with languages, such as Greek and Russian, which use character sets which have almost a one-to-one character correlation with the Roman character set. Languages such as Chinese and Japanese have several thousand different characters in their respective character sets. Furthermore, in Hindi and other Indian languages, a single character is often a combination of symbols. For the foregoing reasons, reconfiguring the keyboard to a language-specific character set is disadvantageous and a complex solution to this problem. A number of other methods have been developed which permit writing Chinese characters using a Roman character keyboard. In U. S. Patent 5, 079, 702, Ho describes a word processor wherein desired Chinese characters are selected by typing English characters preassigned to represent the consonant and vowel sounds of the Chinese characters, followed by a selection of symbol keys representing calligraphic strokes of the Chinese character. The user must, however, have substantial familiarity with the Chinese character set in order to select the symbol keys representing the calligraphic strokes. Additionally, the coding scheme described in Ho provides 15,640 possible representations which are required in order to uniquely represent each of the 10,000 Chinese characters. However, different users may use slightly different English representations of the Chinese characters when they are typing phonetically. While Ho's coding scheme of 15, 640 possible representations are sufficient to uniquely represent each of the 10,000 Chinese characters, the coding scheme does not provide alternative representations which different users may select. In U. S. Patent 5,047,932 issued to Hsieh there is described a method for coding the input of the Chinese characters from a keyboard according to the sounds and tones thereof. Hsieh, however, requires a hard-coded memory module as well as the use of codes which are only partially phonetically based. Therefore, a user must undergo a considerable learning period before information input proficiency is reached. Additionally, the user must have substantial familiarity with the Chinese character set in order to select the symbol keys representing the tones. In U. S. Patent 5, 893, 133 issued to Chen there is described a keyboard for a system and method for processing Chinese language text using diacritics. Chen, however, requires either a specialized non-standard keyboard or a reconfigured keyboard. Therefore, a user must undergo a considerable learning period before information input proficiency is reached. Additionally, the user must have substantial familiarity with the Chinese character set in order to select the symbol keys representing the diacritics. Each of the foregoing systems are disadvantageous because the user must have substantial familiarity with the non-Roman character set and a considerable learning period is required before proficiency of use can be achieved. Additionally, because each of the foregoing systems require either specialized hardware or low level software, the systems are unsuitable for use in distributed computing environments, such as the World Wide Web. It would therefore be advantageous if a user without substantial familiarity of the non-Roman character set could proficiently create documents in that non-Roman character set language using a Roman character set without enduring a long learning period. It would also be advantageous if a user could write textual documents using a Roman character set in a distributed computing environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 is a block diagram describing an exemplary hardware environment wherein the present invention can be practiced; FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of the software components of the present invention; FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface for the present invention; FIGURE 4 is a block diagram of exemplary transliteration databases for the present invention; FIGURE 5 is a flow chart describing the operation of the present invention; FIGURE 6 is a first embodiment of the present invention in a distributed computing environment; and FIGURE 7 is a second embodiment of the present invention in a distributed computing environment. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a system, method, and apparatus which permits users to create text documents using a particular non-Roman character set, with a Roman character keyboard. A user creating a document in a non-Roman character set language phonetically types each word using the Roman characters which mimic the sounds of the word into an input graphical user interface. The typed characters are searched for in a transliteration database which correlates clusters of Roman characters which mimic the sounds of the characters in the non-Roman character set to the respective corresponding non-Roman characters. The non-Roman character corresponding to the typed characters is then printed and/or displayed in an output graphical user interface. Additionally, an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in a two-tier distributed computing environment, wherein application and transliteration databases are stored at a server. A user can download the application and transliteration databases at a remote client computer to create non-Roman text documents on the client computer. Further, an embodiment of the invention is presented in a three-tier distributed computing environment, wherein the application is stored at a first application server and the transliteration databases are stored at a second database server. A user can create non-Roman text documents at a remote client computer by downloading the application. When the application is run on the client computer, the application correlates the Roman typed characters with the corresponding non-Roman characters by sending a query to the transliteration databases at the database server over a communication medium. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGURE 1, a representative hardware environment for a computer system 58 for practicing the present invention is depicted. A CPU 60 is interconnected via system bus 62 to random access memory (RAM) 64, read only memory (ROM) 66, an input/output (I/O) adapter 68, a user interface adapter 72, a communications adapter 84, and a display adapter 86. The input/output (I/O) adapter 68 connects peripheral devices such as a hard disc drive 40, a floppy disc drive 41 for reading removable floppy discs 42, and an optical disc drive 43 for reading a removable optical disc 44 (such as a compact disc or a digital versatile disc) to the bus 62. The user interface adapter 72 connects devices such as a Roman character keyboard 74, a mouse 76 having a plurality of buttons 67, a speaker 78, a microphone 82, and/or other user interfaces devices such as a touch screen device (not shown) to the bus 62. The display adapter 86 connects a monitor 88 to the bus 62. The communications adapter 84 connects the computer system to a data processing network 92. The data processing network 92 may include any number of other computer systems, such as another computer system 58 or a server, as well as mass storage elements such as another hard disc drive 40, or another optical disc drive 43 for reading optical discs 44. Referring now to FIGURE 2, there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary software architecture for the present invention. The present invention permits a user to create text documents written in a particular non-Roman character set, using the Roman character keyboard 105. A user creating a document in a non-Roman character set phonetically types each word using the Roman characters which mimic the sound of the word. An input graphical user interface ( GUI ) 110 can be provided on the monitor 88 to prompt and otherwise assist the user in typing the Roman characters. The Roman characters typed by the user are received by an application program 115 for converting the typed Roman characters to the mimicked non-Roman characters. The application program 115 searches for the received Roman characters (and/or character groupings) in transliteration databases 120. The transliteration databases 120 correlate clusters of Roman characters which mimic non-Roman characters with the respective non-Roman character representations. The application program 115 retrieves the non-Roman character corresponding to the typed Roman characters. The retrieved non-Roman character is then printed and/or displayed via an output GUI 125 on the monitor 88. The application program 115 and transliteration databases 120 can be implemented as sets of instructions and data resident in the random access memory 64 of one or more computer systems 58 configured generally as described in FIGURE 1. Until required by the computer system 58, the set of instructions may be stored in another computer readable memory, for example in a hard disc drive 40, or in removable memory such as an optical disc 44 for eventual use in an optical disc drive 43, or a floppy disc 42 for eventual use in a floppy disc drive 41. Those skilled in the art will note that because computer system 58 is connected to data processing network 92, the random access memory 64, the hard disc drive 40, the floppy disc drive 41, the floppy disc 42, the optical disc drive 43, and the optical disc 44, may reside within the data processing network 92, and therefore, need not be directly connected to the CPU 60 via the bus 62. Execution of the set of instructions causes the input and output GUI 110, 125 to appear on the monitor 88, as shown in FIGURE 3. Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary input and output GUI 110, 125 for the present invention, as would appear on the screen of a monitor 88. The input and output GUI 110, 125 can each comprise what is known in the art as a window, or alternatively, a reserved area of the display screen of the monitor 88. In another embodiment, the input and output GUI 110, 125 can form a portion of a browser page written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML), commonly known as an HTML page. The input GUI 110 prompts the user to enter Roman characters mimicking the sounds of the words the user wishes to write. After each user keystroke, the application program 115 displays the Roman character 205 corresponding to the selected key in the input GUI 110. The output GUI 125 receives and displays the non-Roman characters 210 corresponding to the Roman characters 205 displayed in the input GUI 110. Referring now to FIGURE 4, there is illustrated a block diagram of exemplary transliteration databases 120 for the present invention. The transliteration databases 120 include a vowel transliteration database 120a, a consonant transliteration database 120b, a Matra transliteration database 120c and a word transliteration database 120d. The vowel transliteration database 120a correlates clusters of Roman characters 305 which mimic non-Roman characters with vowel sounds, with the respective non-Roman vowel characters 310. The consonant transliteration database 120b correlates clusters of Roman characters 315 which mimic non-Roman characters with consonant sounds, with the respective non-Roman consonant characters 320. The Matra transliteration database 120c correlates clusters of Roman characters which mimic non- Roman characters with both consonant and vowel sounds with the respective non-Roman character. A "Matra" is used to denote the merging of a vowel with a consonant, commonly occurring in Indian subcontinent languages. Exemplary tables correlating Roman characters which mimic Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi characters with vowel, consonant, and combined consonant/vowel sounds are provided below as Appendix 1: Appendix 1 It is noted that a number of English words are used literally in other languages (known as "broken English). Accordingly, the transliteration databases 120 include a word transliteration database 120d. The word transliteration database 120d correlates the English words used literally with the non-Roman text representing the entire word. The foregoing permits the user to simply type the entire word using English spelling 330 and the corresponding non-Roman text 340 representing the entire word is displayed on the output GUI 125. Exemplary tables correlating English words with Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi text are provided below as Appendix 2: A ppendix 2 The transliteration databases 120 are used to convert the Roman characters into non-Roman text. As the user phonetically types the sounds of each word using the Roman characters, the Roman characters are stored in a buffer memory (not shown). When the user types, for example, a cursor key (as for example, the space bar, delete, backspace, tab, or an arrow key) the contents of the buffer are searched for in the transliteration databases 120. First, the entire contents of the buffer are searched in the transliteration databases 120, and if found, the corresponding non-Roman characters) are printed to the output GUI 125. If the entire contents of the buffer are not found, the contents of the buffer are searched in a sequential manner. The cluster before the first occurrence of a vowel is extracted from the buffer contents. Starting at the first character in the buffer, the non-Roman character corresponding to the Roman character set which matches the most consecutive characters in the buffer is selected and printed and/or displayed to the output GUI 125. This process is repeated for the entire buffer contents. The process is context-sensitive so as to encompass the special character formations where consonants and vowels merge with each other. Referring now to FIGURE 5, a flow diagram describing the operation of the application program 115 is illustrated. The application program 115 starts at 405 by displaying the input GUI 110 and the output GUI 125 (step 405) on the monitor 88. After displaying the input GUI 110 and the output GUI 115, the application program waits (step 410) for keystrokes, allowing the user to begin phonetically typing the sounds which make up words using the Roman character keyboard 74. When the user types a keystroke, the Roman character or action corresponding thereto is printed into the input GUI 110 (step 415). At step 420, a determination is made whether the Roman character is a space character, a new line character, or a cursor key (the arrow keys, page up/down, insert, delete, or backspace). Where the Roman character is not a cursor key, a determination is made whether the Roman character is a Roman indicator key "<" (step 425). The Roman indicator is a predetermined indicator, e.g., "<", which permits users to mix Roman text with non-Roman text. When the Roman indicator is received, the Roman characters are copied to the output GUI 125 until a Roman indicator end, e.g., ">", is received (step 432). After the Roman indicator end is received, the application 115 awaits the next stroke (step 410). Where the Roman character is not a Roman indicator key, the character is placed in a buffer (step 430) and the application program awaits the next keystroke (step 410). The process (steps 410-432) is repeated until a cursor key is received. Where the Roman character entered during step 410 is cursor key, the application 115 searches (step 435) for the buffer contents in the vowel, consonant, and Matra databases 120a, 120b, 120c. If the buffer contents are found (step 440) in the vowel, consonant, or Matra database 120a, 120b, 120c the non-Roman character corresponding to the buffer contents is printed to the output GUI 125 (step 445). If the buffer contents are not found in the vowel, consonant, or Matra databases 120a, 120b, 120c, the word transliteration database 120d is searched (step 450). If the buffer contents are found in the word transliteration database 120d (step 455), the non-Roman word representation is printed to the output GUI 125 (step 460). If the buffer contents cannot be found in the word transliteration database 120d, the buffer contents are transliterated in a sequential fashion as described below. The cluster before the firsLαccurrence of a vowel is extracted from the buffer contents (step 465). Starting with this cluster, the non-Roman character in the vowel, consonant, or Matra database 120a, 120b, 120c corresponding to the Roman character set which matches the most consecutive characters in the cluster is selected and printed and/or displayed to the output GUI 125 (step 470). The matched buffer characters are then removed from the buffer (step 475). Steps 465-475 are repeated until the entire contents of the buffer have been matched (step 480) and associated non-Roman characters printed (step 470) in the output GUI 125. After the non-Roman characters) have been printed to the output GUI 125 in steps 445, 460, or 480, the buffer is cleared (step 485). A determination is then made whether the user has finished typing (step 490). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing determination can be made in a number of ways, such as selection of an object using the mouse 76. The foregoing steps (steps 410-490) are repeated until the user indicates that they are finished at step 490. As noted above, the application 115 and transliteration databases 120 can be stored within a computer system 58, allowing a user at that computer system 58 to write non-Roman text documents. However, the recent popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web provide a convenient distributed computing environment available to millions around the world. By implementing the application 115 and transliteration databases 120 in a distributed computing environment, a user can write non-Roman text documents at any appropriately connected computer system 58. Referring now to FIGURE 6, there is illustrated a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention in a two-tier distributed computing environment. The distributed computing environment includes a server 505 that is used to handle common services, such as databases, voice mail, E-mail, facsimile, as well as user applications such as application 115. The foregoing functions are made accessible to one or more computer systems 58, referred to in this context as client computers 58. Client computers 58 access the server 505 via a communication medium 510 which can include a telephone connection, a coaxial cable, the Internet, or a combination thereof. Storing the application 115 and the transliteration databases 120 at the server 505 is advantageous because the application 115 can be accessed by numerous client computers 58 located about a large geographic area. Additionally, writing and storing the application 115 and transliteration databases 120 using a machine independent programming language eliminates constraints on client computers 58 due to manufacturing differences. The application 115 and associated transliteration databases 120 can be downloaded from the server 505 and run on the client computer 58, using a program known as a browser. The foregoing embodiment permits a user to access the application 115 and transliteration databases 120 from a remote location. However, the process of downloading can be time consuming where the transliteration databases are large, particularly if the communication medium 510 includes a telephone line. For a large transliteration database 120, an improvement in efficiency can be realized by managing the transliteration databases at the server end. Referring now to FIGURE 7, there is illustrated a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention in a three-tier distributed computing environment. The distributed computing environment includes the server 505, the client computer 58, and a database server 605 interconnected via the communications medium 510. Although illustrated as different servers, the server 505 and the database server 605 can be co-located. The application 115 is stored at the server 505 and the transliteration databases are stored at the database server 605. In contrast to the two-tier distributed computing environment shown in FIGURE 6, the application 115 is executed at the server 505. However, the application 115 causes the input GUI 110 and output GUI 125 to appear on the monitor 88 of the client computer 58. The application 115 receives inputs from the Roman character keyboard 74 at the client, accesses the transliteration databases 120 at the database server 605 by sending database queries (e.g., steps 435, 450, and 465), and retrieving results (e.g., steps 445, 460, and 470), over the communication medium 510. Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A method for writing a text document with a non-Roman character set comprising a plurality of non-Roman characters, said method comprising the steps of: receiving inputs from a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, wherein each of said plurality of keys correspond to a particular Roman character; searching a database for said received inputs, said database storing each of said plurality of non-Roman characters and a plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters, each of said plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of non-Roman characters, wherein each of said plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters phonetically represent said corresponding particular non-Roman character; and placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said received inputs into said text document in response to finding said received inputs in said database. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving step further comprises the steps of: receiving keystrokes from said keyboard wherein said keystrokes correspond to particular Roman characters; and placing said particular Roman characters corresponding to said keystrokes in a buffer memory. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of searching further comprises the step of: searching a database for said Roman characters placed in said buffer, in response to receiving a keystroke corresponding to a cursor key during said receiving step. 4. The method of claim 2 wherein said received inputs are not found in said database, and further comprising the steps of: searching said database for a particular one of said plurality of sets, wherein said particular one of said plurality of sets matches a portion of said Roman characters placed in said buffer; placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said particular set into said text document; and removing said portion of Roman characters from said buffer. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said database comprises a vowel transliteration database, a consonant transliteration database, and a word transUteration database, and a wherein said step of searching comprises the steps of: searching for said received inputs in the vowel transliteration database and the consonant transliteration database; placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said received inputs into said text document in response to finding said character during said searching step; and searching for said received inputs in the word transliteration database in response to not finding said character during searching step. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said non-Roman characters are those used in a language selected from the group consisting of Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. 7. A transliteration computer system for writing text documents with a non-Roman character set comprising a plurality of non-Roman characters, said system comprising: a keyboard a plurality of keys for providing inputs to said system, wherein each of said plurality of keys corresponds to a particular Roman character; a database for storing each of said plurality of non-Roman characters and a plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters, each of said plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters corresponding to a particular one of said plurality of non-Roman characters, and wherein each of said plurality of sets phonetically represent said corresponding particular non-Roman character; an application program within said transUteration computer system for searching said database for said received inputs; and output means for processing said non-Roman character corresponding to said received inputs in response to finding said Roman characters represented by said received inputs are found in said database. 8. The transUteration computer system of claim 7, wherein said keyboard is adapted to receive keystrokes corresponding to particular Roman characters, and further comprising: a buffer memory for Roman characters corresponding to said keystrokes. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein said appUcation program includes means for searching said database for said particular Roman characters placed in said buffer, in response to said keyboard providing a keystroke corresponding to a cursor key. 10. The system of claim 7, wherein said database comprises a vowel transUteration database, a consonant transUteration database, and a word transliteration database. 11. The system of claim 7, wherein said output means comprises a monitor. 12. The system of claim 7, wherein said output means comprises a graphical user interface displayable on a monitor. 13. The system of claim 7, wherein said keyboard and said output means form a portion of a cUent computer and said appUcation program is stored at a server which is connected to said cUent computer by a communication medium. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said database is stored at a database server, and wherein said cUent computer, said server, and said database server are interconnected by said communication medium. 15. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied thereon for writing a text document with a non-Roman character set comprising, a plurality of non-Roman characters in a computer system having a monitor, and memory, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising: computer readable program code means for: receiving inputs from a keyboard comprising a pluraUty of keys, wherein each of said plurality of keys correspond to a particular Roman character; searching a database for said received inputs, said database storing each of said pluraUty of non-Roman characters and a plurality of sets of one or more Roman characters, each of said pluraUty of sets corresponding to a particular one of said pluraUty of non-Roman characters, wherein each of said pluraUty of sets phoneticaUy represent said corresponding particular non-Roman character; and placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said received inputs into said text document in response to finding said received inputs in said database. 16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said computer readable program code further comprises means for: receiving keystrokes from said keyboard; and placing said particular Roman characters corresponding to said keystrokes in a buffer in response to said keystrokes corresponding to associated particular Roman characters. 17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said computer readable program code means for searching further comprises computer readable program code means for: searching said database for said Roman characters placed in said buffer, in response to receiving a keystroke corresponding to a cursor key by said receiving means. 18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said computer readable program code further comprises means for: searching said database for a particular one of said pluraUty of sets, wherein said particular one of said pluraUty of sets matches a portion of said Roman characters placed in said buffer in response to not finding said received inputs in said database; placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said particular set into said text document; and removing said portion of Roman characters from said buffer. 19. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein said database comprises a vowel transUteration database, a consonant transUteration database, and a word transUteration database, and a wherein said computer readable program code means for searching further comprises computer readable program code means for: searching for said received inputs in the vowel transUteration database and the consonant transUteration database; placing said particular non-Roman character corresponding to said received inputs into said text document in response to finding said character during said searching step; and searching for said received inputs in the word transliteration database in response to not finding said character during searching step. 20. The article of manufacture of claim 15 wherein said non-Roman characters are those used in a language selected from the group consisting of Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi.

Inventors: CHHAJLANI VINAY, CHHAJLANI, VINAY
Applicants: WEBDUNIA COM INDIA LTD, WEBDUNIA.COM (INDIA) LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3