Patent Publication Number: US-2010131261-A1

Title: Information retrieval oriented translation method, and apparatus and storage media using the same

Description:
This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 97145471, filed on Nov. 25, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to a translation method and apparatus and storage media using the same, and more particularly, to a translation method and apparatus and storage media using the same for cross-language information retrieval. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     With increased internet access, information retrieval via the internet has grown in popularity. Accordingly, cross-language information retrieval has also grown in popularity. For cross-language information retrieval, one conventional method is for manual translation of information in advance and another conventional method is for key term translation of information. 
     While manual translation of information in advance results in better quality translations, feasibility due to high costs hinders usage. Meanwhile, key term translation of information, while more feasible than manual translations, is characterized by lower quality translations and decreased usefulness. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention discloses an information retrieval translation method for translating a plurality of Chinese terms comprising a first Chinese term and a second Chinese term. The information retrieval translation method comprises comparing the first Chinese term with a plurality of first indices stored in a first language database, wherein the first language database has a plurality of first translation terms corresponding to the first indices. Additionally, the corresponding first translation term for the first index which corresponds to the first Chinese term is acquired. Also, the second Chinese term with a plurality of second indices stored in a second language database is compared, wherein the second language database has a plurality of second translation terms corresponding to the second indices. Moreover, the corresponding second translation term for the second index which corresponds to the second Chinese term is acquired. 
     Furthermore, the invention discloses an information retrieval translation apparatus for translating a plurality of Chinese terms comprising a first Chinese term and a second Chinese term. The information retrieval translation apparatus comprises a first language database, a second language database, a comparison module and a translation term acquisition module. The first language database stores a plurality of first indices and a plurality of first translation terms corresponding to the first indices. The second language database stores a plurality of second indices and a plurality of second translation terms corresponding to the second indices. The comparison module compares the first Chinese term with the first indices, and the second Chinese term with the second indices. The translation term acquisition module acquires the corresponding first translation term for the first index which corresponds to the first Chinese term, and the corresponding second translation term for the second index which corresponds to the second Chinese term. 
     Furthermore, the invention discloses a storage medium for storing an information retrieval translation program, wherein the information retrieval translation program comprises a plurality of program codes to be loaded onto a computer system so that an information retrieval translation method for translating a plurality of Chinese terms comprising a first Chinese term and a second Chinese term may be executed by the computer system. The information retrieval translation method comprises comparing the first Chinese term with a plurality of first indices stored in a first language database, wherein the first language database has a plurality of first translation terms corresponding to the first indices. Additionally, the corresponding first translation term for the first index which corresponds to the first Chinese term is acquired. Also, the second Chinese term with a plurality of second indices stored in a second language database is compared, wherein the second language database has a plurality of second translation terms corresponding to the second indices. Moreover, the corresponding second translation term for the second index which corresponds to the second Chinese term is acquired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a diagram of an information retrieval translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows an operation flowchart of the information retrieval translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 3  shows an information retrieval translation flowchart according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
       FIG. 1  shows a diagram of an information retrieval translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The information retrieval translation apparatus  10  comprises a document collection module  11 , a document dividing module  12 , a stop word removal module  13 , a first language database  14 , a second language database  15 , a comparison module  16  and a translation term acquisition module  17 . 
       FIG. 2  shows an operation flowchart of the information retrieval translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. First, the document collection module  11  collects a plurality of Chinese articles (step S 20 ). Assume that one of the plurality of Chinese articles is “ji yu jing fei bian lie ji jin kuai jin xing nai zhen ping gu bu qiang gong zuo zhi kao liang       ying jian li yi chu bu ping gu fang fa    ′ and yi zuo wei chu bu shai xuan you xian jin xing nai zhen neng li bu qiang zhi xiao she jian zhu      ”, the document dividing module  12  performs a dividing procedure on the collected Chinese articles (step S 21 ). For example, a list of produced Chinese terms for the above divided article may be seen in Table 1 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 List of Chinese Terms For a Divided Article 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 ji yu    jing fei   bian lie   ji    jin kuai    jin xing 
               
               
                   
                     nai zhen   ping gu    bu qiang    gong zuo    zhi 
               
               
                   
                     kao liang   , ying   jian li    yi    chu bu    ping 
               
               
                   
                 gu    fang fa   , yi    zuo wei    chu bu    shai 
               
               
                   
                 xuan    you xian    jin xing    nai zhen    neng li    
               
               
                   
                 bu qiang    zhi    xiao she    jian zhu    
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Next, the stop word removal module  13  removes the stop words from the Table 1 (step S 22 ). The stop words refer to as the unimportant terms and punctuation marks, such as “ji  “zhi ” “yi ” “yi (AA)”  ” and “ying . Based on this, the remaining Chinese terms may be seen as Table 2 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 List of Chinese Terms Without Stop Words 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 ji yu    jing fei    bian lie    jin kuai    jin xing    
               
               
                   
                 nai zhen    ping gu    bu qiang    gong zuo    kao liang 
               
               
                   
                     jian li    chu bu    ping gu    fang fa    zuo wei 
               
               
                   
                     chu bu    shai xuan    you xian    jin xing    nai 
               
               
                   
                 zhen    neng li    bu qiang    xiao she    jian zhu    
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The content of Table 2, is next utilized to apply the information retrieval translation method of the invention. The first language database  14  is first used to translate the content of Table 2. The first language database  14  may be a general dictionary for general translations rather than professional dictionary for professional translations. In addition, the first language database  14  stores a plurality of first indices and a plurality of first translation terms corresponding to the first indices. For example, a first index may be “jian li   whereas a translation term corresponding to the first index may be “establish”, “create” or “build”. Note “jian li” is merely a phonetic transcription (pinyin) for the Chinese characters   (jian li)”, and not an English translation, which is “establish”, “create” or “build”. 
     Following, the comparison module  16  compares each Chinese term of Table 2 with the first indices stored in the first language database  14  (general dictionary) (step S 23 ). If a first index is found corresponding to the Chinese term of Table 2, the translation term acquisition module  17  acquires the first translation term corresponding to the first index (step S 24 ). 
     Through the processing of steps S 23  and S 24 , the result may be seen as the Table 3 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Translation Result Provided By General Dictionary 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 “ji yu   ” “funds” “bian lie    “as soon as possible” “to advance” 
               
               
                 “nai zhen    seismic” “evaluate” “bu qiang   ” “job” “consider” 
               
               
                 “ought” “establish (or create, build)” “initial” “evaluate” “method” 
               
               
                 “accomplish” “initial” “to filter” “priority” “to advance” “nai zhen    
               
               
                 seismic” “capability” “bu qiang   ” “xiao she   ” “architecture” 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     As seen in Table 3, the remaining Chinese terms were not translated. Therefore, a professional dictionary (second language database  15 ) is used for a better quality translation. 
     Following, the comparison module  16  compares the Chinese terms that were not translated with the second indices stored in the second language database  15  (professional dictionary) (step S 25 ). Note that the second language database  15  also stores a plurality of second indices and a plurality of second translation terms corresponding to the second indices. Following step S 25 , if a second index is found corresponding to the Chinese terms that were not translated, then the translation term acquisition module  17  acquires the corresponding second translation term stored in the second language database  15  (step S 26 ). With steps S 25  and S 26 , the Chinese term “bu qiang  of Table 3 may be translated as “reinforcement”. However, some Chinese terms may still not be translated, such as “ji yu , “bian lie , “nai zhen  and “xiao she ”. Thus, manual translation is applied via an input interface (not shown), such as a keyboard or a mouse etc (step S 27 ). Detailed description of the step S 27  is explained with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 3  shows an information retrieval translation flowchart for the step S 27  according to an embodiment of the invention. The translation result illustrated in step S 26  is provided by both the general and professional dictionaries. If there are still Chinese terms that are not translated following the translation result illustrated in step S 26 , the Chinese terms are processed and recorded for manual translation thereafter. Specifically, first, it is determined whether the Chinese terms that are still not translated are inappropriately divided Chinese terms for step S 21  (step S 271 ). For example, a Chinese sentence “quan tai da ting dian  may be inappropriately divided as “quan )”, “tai da  and “ting dian  (the correct dividing should be “quan tai   “da  and “ting dian   Next, it is determined whether the Chinese terms, including the Chinese terms that are determined to be inappropriately divided, are important, meaningful terms (step S 272 ). If not, the translation terms of the Chinese terms will be replaced with the punctuation mark “;” and the Chinese terms are further stored in the professional dictionary (step S 273 ) so that the same unimportant Chinese terms may be skipped in future information retrieval. If the Chinese terms are determined to be important, meaningful terms, manual translation is applied (step S 274 ). Note that if the Chinese terms determined to be inappropriately divided are also determined to be important and meaningful, the inappropriate dividing is manually corrected before the manual translation is applied. The definition of important, meaningful terms is dependent of whether the Chinese terms are critical for information retrieval. For instance, for the Chinese terms that are not translated following the translation result illustrated in step S 26 , the Chinese term “bian lie is usually not treated as a critical term for any specific field. Therefore, it is determined to be an unimportant term and its translation term is replaced with the punctuation mark “;”. Meanwhile, the Chinese term “nai zhen  is a commonly-used term in architectural engineering, so it is regarded as an important, meaningful term. Therefore, it is translated as “earthquake resistant” following manual translation, and the translation term “earthquake resistant” is further stored in the professional dictionary through the input interface. Also, the Chinese term “xiao she   represents a specific object, which is determined to be an important, meaningful term. Therefore, it is translated as “school building” following manual translation and the translation term “school building” is further stored in the professional dictionary through the input interface. As for the Chinese term “ji yu it is also determined to be an important, meaningful term since it involves the concept of cause and effect. Therefore, it is translated as “because of” following manual translation and the translation term “because of” is further stored in the professional dictionary through the input interface. 
     The content of Table 3 may be translated as Table 4 using the rule introduced in  FIG. 3 , as shown below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Translation Result Using General And Professional Dictionaries 
               
               
                 As Well As Human Translation 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 “because of” “funds” “as soon as possible” “to advance” “earthquake 
               
               
                 resistant seismic” “evaluate” “reinforcement” “job” “consider” “ought” 
               
               
                 “establish (or create, build)” “initial” “evaluate” “method” 
               
               
                 “accomplish” “initial” “to filter” “priority” “to advance” “earthquake 
               
               
                 resistant seismic” “capability” “reinforcement” “school building” 
               
               
                 “architecture” 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     When compared to a translation result using only manual translation: “when considering costs and expedience of assuring seismically standard school buildings, a preliminary seismic evaluation should first be conducted to prioritize the retrofitting of school buildings”, despite differences in the quality of translation as illustrated in Table 4, listing of the key terms for cross-language information retrieval is achieved, thus providing substantially the same performance as the manual translation for information retrieval. 
     Note that during application, training of key term(s) is applied in the information retrieval translation method of the invention to achieve more expedient cross-language information retrieval. 
     Note that in step S 273 , the translation terms of the unimportant Chinese terms are directly replaced with the punctuation mark “;” without translation and these Chinese terms are stored in the professional dictionary. Thus, training of the professional dictionary is achieved, decreasing time required for future processing. Similarly, in step S 274 , the translation terms obtained from manual translation will also be stored in the professional dictionary for training purposes (step S 275 ). Thus, the translation for the same Chinese term may be directly obtained from the professional dictionary without repeated manual translations, thus decreasing future requirement for manual translations and costs and increasing quality of translations. 
     In addition, the information retrieval translation method can be recorded as a program in a storage medium for performing the above procedures, such as an optical disk, floppy disk and portable hard drive and so on. It is to be emphasized that the information retrieval translation method program is formed by a plurality of program codes corresponding to the procedures described above. 
     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.