Data processing: speech signal processing – linguistics – language – Linguistics – Natural language
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-28
2001-09-18
Edouard, Patrick N. (Department: 2747)
Data processing: speech signal processing, linguistics, language
Linguistics
Natural language
C704S007000, C379S088050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292773
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to arrangements for automatically generating messages, such as voice and text announcements, in any of multiple variations, e.g., languages.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automated message-generating arrangements have a wide range of applications. For example, in interactive voice-response systems, they are used to generate messages for playback to a user which either provide the user with information or prompt the user for action.
The design and use of the message-generating arrangement is relatively simple if only one language is supported. For example, the sentence structure required for any announcement is known a-priori, thereby making the construction of announcements relatively simple. However, even if only one language is supported, there is still a problem of entering information that is context-dependent or user-dependent into the announcements. An example of context-dependent information is singular versus plural terms. An example of user-dependent information is date information: “day/month” order in some cultures versus “month/day” order in others.
As a result of language-, culture-, or market-specific variations in representing information, the design of the message-generating arrangement usually is language-, culture-, or market-specific. But this limits use of the arrangement to only the particular market, culture, or language for which it was designed, and different designs must be created for each market, culture and language. This is very expensive and highly inefficient.
To avoid this problem, efforts have been made to design message-generating arrangements that are language-, culture-, or market-independent. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,164 discloses a voice-messaging system whose design is based upon “semantic expressions” that are used to evaluate language-, culture-, or market-specific data. While effective, this design still does not separate the “semantic expressions” from associated application code to the extent needed to make the design completely application-independent and therefore completely versatile and generic.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to solving these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. Generally according to the invention, there is provided an application-independent language module for language-independent applications. The language module responds to a request identifying a concept that is generic to a plurality of languages and also identifying the language that the concept is to be expressed in by generating and returning an expression of the identified concept in the identified language. All grammar and syntax of the concept in the identified language is defined by the language module. The language module thus separates and hides all language dependencies from applications, while preferably the language module is application-independent. The term “language” is used broadly throughout to include culture and market as well as other contexts that affect the expression of concepts.
According to one aspect of the invention, a communications method comprises the following steps. The language module receives identification of a concept that is generic to a plurality of languages, and of a language that the concept is to be expressed in, from an application that needs to communicate the identified concept in the identified language. In response, the language module generates an expression of the identified concept in the identified language from stored information, and provides the generated expression to the application for communicating the expression. The application is consequently independent of languages including the identified language, and may be used to express the concept in any language for which the language module has the stored information. Preferably, the language module is also independent of applications including this application, and may be used with any application that can identify to the language module a concept and a language for which the language module has the stored information. Illustratively, the provided expression identifies stored media fragments and their order that form a communicable version of the concept, and the application obtains the identified media fragments from a database of stored media fragments and communicates them in the identified order. The language module is thus made media-independent and can be used to generate expressions of concepts in any media (e.g., voice, text, etc.)
According to another aspect of the invention, the language module comprises a plurality of stored concept definitions each defining a concept that is generic to a plurality of languages in a language-dependent manner and pointing to parsers each for expressing a portion of an expression of the concept in the language of the concept definition, and further associating any variables that are involved in the concept with the parsers. The language module also comprises a plurality of the stored parsers for expressing portions of the expressions of the concepts in the languages of the corresponding concept definitions and for expressing values of any variables associated with the parsers in the languages of the corresponding concept definitions. The language module further includes a means (a program interface, for example) for receiving identifications of any one of the concepts and of a language that the concept is to be expressed in, and values of any variables involved in the concept, and in response for returning an expression of the identified concept in the identified language. A further means (a processing engine, for example) of the language module responds to the received identifications by accessing a stored concept definition that corresponds to the received identifications, responds to the accessed concept definition by using the parsers pointed to by the accessed concept definition to express the portions of the expression in the identified language, including expressing any values of any said variables in the identified language by using any said parsers associated with any said variables. Illustratively, the language module is implemented in object-oriented programming form where the above-characterized stored entities are object instances of foundation classes (prototype objects) that are also included in the language module.
The language module further preferably comprises a plurality of stored concept objects each representing a different one of the concepts in a language-independent manner and pointing to the concept definitions that define the corresponding concept in language-dependent manners. The processing engine responds to the received concept and language identifications by accessing a concept object that corresponds to the identified concept and determining therefrom the concept definition that corresponds to the identified concept and language.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a communications method involving an application that uses the language module comprises the following steps. The application identifies to the language module a concept that is generic to a plurality of languages and a language that the concept is to be expressed in, in response to needing to communicate the identified concept in the identified language. In response, the application receives from the language module an expression of the identified concept in the identified language, and in response the application communicates the received expression of the concept. The application is thus independent of languages, including the identified language. Illustratively, the received expression identifies media fragments and their order that form a communicable version of the concept, and the application obtains the identified media fragments from a database of media fragments and communicates those media fragments in the identified order.
The invention encompasses both methods that comprise the above-characterized steps and apparatuses that include the above-characterized elements or effect the method steps. The latter app
Bernardes Marcelo C.
Giorgetti Cleber D.
Avaya Technology Corp.
Edouard Patrick N.
Volejnicek David
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