RHE Chinese Storage Format for Pronunciation-Aware Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Chinese language processing systems fail to accurately represent pronunciation and face challenges with simplified and traditional character conversions, multiple pronunciations, and context-dependent pronunciations, leading to readability issues and conversion errors.
Innovation Solution
A storage format called Readable Hanyu Expression (RHE) that represents each Chinese word as Syllable+Tone+Mark, using Pinyin for pronunciation and a unique Mark to differentiate characters, along with mapping tables to convert between simplified and traditional characters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If Chinese characters are encoded using traditional coding systems (GB2312, GB 18030, BIG5, Unicode), then computers can recognize and display Chinese characters, but the coding system does not represent pronunciation information, making it difficult to read and pronounce rare characters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the Chinese character representation into multiple independent components: character form (using traditional coding systems), pronunciation (using Pinyin), and tone (using numerical indicators). This segmentation allows each component to serve its specific function independently, with the pronunciation component providing phonetic information that aids reading and pronunciation of rare characters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the traditional character encoding system and the user interface. This intermediary layer includes pronunciation annotations (Pinyin) and tone indicators that mediate between the abstract character codes and the user's need to read and pronounce characters, especially rare ones.
2Reliability
If simplified and traditional Chinese characters are handled separately with different coding systems, then character encoding can be standardized, but conversion between simplified and traditional characters becomes complex and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal character representation system that can handle both simplified and traditional Chinese characters through a single unified structure. The character form component can represent either simplified or traditional characters, and the same pronunciation and tone components apply to both versions, eliminating the need for separate handling and reducing conversion complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes to represent different character forms. By changing the character form parameter while keeping the pronunciation and tone parameters constant, the system can switch between simplified and traditional characters without requiring complex conversion logic, as the other parameters remain unchanged.
3Device complexity
If multiple Chinese characters with the same pronunciation are represented with the same code, then encoding is simplified, but it becomes impossible to distinguish between different characters with identical pronunciations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the character identification into multiple components: character form (for visual distinction), pronunciation (for phonetic information), and tone (for phonological information). This segmentation allows the system to distinguish between multiple characters with the same pronunciation by using the character form component, while maintaining simple encoding through the modular structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making the character form component distinguishable while keeping the pronunciation and tone components uniform for characters with the same pronunciation. This allows precise character identification where needed (in the character form component) while maintaining encoding simplicity in other components.
4Device complexity
If context-dependent pronunciations are not represented in the storage format, then the storage system remains simple, but it cannot accurately represent the correct pronunciation of characters in different contexts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic elements to the storage format through tone indicators that can vary based on context. The tone component can change depending on the character's position in a word or phrase, allowing the system to represent context-dependent pronunciations accurately while maintaining a relatively simple overall storage structure through the modular component design.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage format of Chinese language (“Readable Hanyu Expression” or “RHE”) and the related processing methods and systems. Unlike current Chinese processing methods which directly code Chinese characters into fonts for display, RHE takes an indirect approach by storing Chinese language in the RHE storage format that can be mapped to several display forms including simplified and traditional Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin, etc. In the RHE storage format, each Chinese word is stored as an RHE storage element having the format (Syllable+Tone)n+Mark, where n is the number of syllables (Chinese characters) in the word, Syllable represents the pronunciation (without the tone) of the character, Tone represents the tone of the pronunciation, and Mark is a value that differentiates different words having the same pronunciations and tones. Various mapping tables are used to map RHE storage elements to standard Chinese character codes (such as Unicode) and Pinyin expressions.