A Text Input Front-end Processor as an Information Access Platform

A Text Input Front-end Processor as an Information Access Platform Shinichi DOI, Shin-ichiro KAMEI and Kiyoshi YAMABANA C&C Media Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation 4-1-1, Miyazaki, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, KANAGAWA 216-8555 JAPAN s-doi@ccm.cl.nec.co.jp, kamei@ccm.cl.nec.co.jp, yamabana@ccm.cl.nec.co.jp Abstract This paper presents a practical foreign language writing support tool which makes it much easier to utilize dictionary and example sentence resources. Like a Kana-Kanji conversion front-end processor used to input Japanese language text, this tool is also implemented as a front-end processor and can be combined with a wide variety of applications. A morphological analyzer automatically extracts key words from text as it is being input into the tool, and these words are used to locate information relevant to the input text. This information is then automatically displayed to the user. With this tool, users can concentrate better on their writing because much less interruption of their work is required for the consulting of dictionaries or for the retrieval of reference sentences. Retrieval and display may be conducted in any of three ways: 1) relevant information is retrieved and displayed automatically; 2) information is retrieved automatically but displayed only on user command; 3) information is both retrieved and displayed only on user command. The extent to which the retrieval and display of information proceeds automatically depends on the type of information being referenced; this element of the design adds to system efficiency. Further, by combining this tool with a stepped-level interactive machine translation function, we have created a PC support tool to help Japanese people write in English. 1. Introduction When creating text using word processing software on a personal computer, it is common to refer to books or documents relevant to the text, including various kinds of dictionaries and reference works. The tools used for accessing relevant information, such as CD-ROM dictionaries, text databases, and text retrieval software, however, often require user actions that may seriously interrupt the writing process itself. These may include executing retrieval software, inputting key words, or copying retrieved information into texts. The foreign language writing support tool we propose here automatically access information relevant to input texts. Like a Kana-Kanji conversion front-end processor used to input Japanese language text, this tool is also implemented as a front-end processor (FEP) and can be combined with a wide variety of applications. The extent to which the retrieval and display of information proceeds automatically depends on the type of information being referenced; this element of the design adds to system efficiency. In Section 2, we consider the requirements for efficient writing support tools and discuss the characteristics of our front-end processor and its automatic information access function. In Section 3, we introduce our English writing support tool, which has been developed to help Japanese people write in English on a PC. This tool combines a front-end processor with the stepped- level interactive machine translation method we first proposed in Yamabana (1997). In Section 4, we describe the automatic information access function of the English writing support tool. 336 2. FEP-type Information Access …

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