System and method for collaborative language translation

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for presenting a machine translation and alternative translations to a user, where a selection of any particular alternative translation results in the re-ranking of the remaining alternatives. The system then presents these re-ranked alternatives to the user, who can continue proofing the machine translation using the re-ranked alternatives or by typing an improved translation. This process continues until the user indicates that the current portion of the translation is complete, at which point the system moves to the next portion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 detecting an input from a first device, the input identifying a translation possibility from a list of alternative translation possibilities;   ranking a list of translation possibilities in a first order based on the input, to yield a ranked list of translation possibilities in a second order;   providing the ranked list of translation possibilities to the first device; and   facilitating a transfer of the ranked list of translation possibilities to a second device for display, wherein the ranked list of translation possibilities is presented contemporaneously to both the first device and the second device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the list of translation possibilities was previously ranked such that the ranking comprises a re-ranking of the list of translation possibilities. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the list of translation possibilities in the first order comprises machine translations of a source text in an original language distinct from machine translations. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the list of translation possibilities and the list of alternative translation possibilities are contemporaneously presented to a single device allowing a first user and a second user to participate in a collaborative translation of a source text. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing to the first device a machine translation, the input, and the ranked list of translation possibilities in the second order. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a ranking of the list of alternative translation possibilities is based on a likelihood of each translation alternative of the ranked list of translation possibilities being selected by a first user using the first device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the likelihood of each translation alternative being selected via the first device is determined from one of historical trends, crowdsourcing, previous usage associated with a source text, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the list of alternative translation possibilities comprises alternative portions associated with machine translation portions. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the machine translation portions comprise one of a line of machine code and a cluster of machine code lines. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the input from the first device comprises one of a selection from the ranked list of translation possibilities and a non-predetermined translation alternative from the first device. 
     
     
         11 . A system comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 detecting an input from a first device, the input identifying a translation possibility from a list of alternative translation possibilities; 
 ranking a list of translation possibilities in a first order based on the input, to yield a ranked list of translation possibilities in a second order; 
 providing the ranked list of translation possibilities to the first device; and 
 facilitating a transfer of the ranked list of translation possibilities to a second device for display, wherein the ranked list of translation possibilities is presented contemporaneously to both the first device and the second device. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the list of translation possibilities was previously ranked such that the ranking comprises a re-ranking of the list of translation possibilities. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the list of translation possibilities in the first order comprises machine translations of a source text in an original language distinct from machine translations. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the list of translation possibilities and the list of alternative translation possibilities are contemporaneously presented to a single device allowing a first user and a second user to participate in a collaborative translation of a source text. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the memory stores additional instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform further operations comprising:
 providing to the first device a machine translation, the input, and the ranked list of translation possibilities in the second order.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein a ranking of the list of alternative translation possibilities is based on a likelihood of each translation alternative of the ranked list of translation possibilities being selected by a first user using the first device. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the likelihood of each translation alternative being selected via the first device is determined from one of historical trends, crowdsourcing, previous usage associated with a source text, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the list of alternative translation possibilities comprises alternative portions associated with machine translation portions. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the machine translation portions comprise one of a line of machine code and a cluster of machine code lines. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the input from the first device comprises one of a selection from the ranked list of translation possibilities and a non-predetermined translation alternative from the first device.