Patent ID: 7546235

Claim:
A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising: identifying from a collection of data a plurality of patterns that represent paraphrase alternations, wherein each pattern is a unified string of text that includes an at least partially abstract representation of a first set of words in combination with an at least partially abstract representation of a corresponding second set of words, the representations being at least partially abstract in that they include at least one placeholder representation of a word rather than a specifically required word, and wherein the pattern of transformation indicates a pattern of transformation from the first set of words to the second set of words, and wherein identifying comprises automatically identifying, and wherein identifying is a step performed by a processing device that is a functional component of the computing device; ranking the plurality of patterns based on frequency of occurrence within the collection of data; determining a threshold to be applied to the plurality of patterns, the threshold being based on frequency of occurrence within the collection of data; selecting a particular pattern from the plurality, the particular pattern having a number of occurrences within the collection of data, the number being greater than the determined threshold; applying the particular pattern to an input string so as to create a paraphrased version of the input string; and applying a language model to determine how to apply the particular pattern to the input string, wherein applying a language model comprises applying a language model that incorporates data that reflects a subject matter that is also reflected in said collection of data.