A text input front-end processor as an information access platform

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.