WO2009036114A1

WO2009036114A1 - Electronic communication translation system, and associated method and computer program product

Info

Publication number: WO2009036114A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/075937
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin Anthony Wilson
Original assignee: RTI International Inc
Current assignee: RTI International Inc
Priority date: 2007-09-11
Filing date: 2008-09-11
Publication date: 2009-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 2010-03-11

Abstract

A method is provided for translating a communication, transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptible language. Such a method comprises dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network. At least a portion of the original communication is translated from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication. The translated communication is received at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication. Associated methods, systems, and computer program products are also provided.

Description

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TRANSLATION SYSTEM, AND ASSOCIATED METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to electronic communication and, more particularly, to an in-transmittal translation system for an electronic communication and associated method and computer program product.

Description of Related Art

With the proliferation of electronic communication as a preferred manner of connecting entities, it may be desirable for such a communication to be tailored to the preferred languages of the communicating parties. Under such criteria, communication is generally easy when the parties prefer or use the same language. However, issues may arise where the communicating parties speak, comprehend, or otherwise understand different languages. In such instances, it may be desirable to translate a communication between the parties such that the recipient receives the communication in his/her preferred language.

In this regard, some attempts have been made in the prior art to accomplish a translation scheme for electronic communications. For example, U.S. Patent No. 6,996,520 is directed to a language translation system and method using specialized dictionaries. In this instance, the '520 patent discloses a translation resource that must be affirmatively sought out by a user, and requires particular user input, in order for the user to obtain the desired translation. Further, U.S. Patent No. 5,535,120 is directed to a machine translation and telecommunications system using user ID data to select dictionaries. In this instance, the ' 120 patent also discloses a translation resource that must be affirmatively sought out by a user, and requires particular user input, in order for the user to obtain the desired translation. As such, the '520 and ' 120 patents appear to be directed to resources, outside of an electronic communication, that must be sought out by either the sender or the recipient, in order to make use of the translation capabilities afforded thereby. In addition, U.S. Patent No. 5,884,246 is purportedly directed to a system and method for transparent translation of electronically transmitted messages. However, in this instance, the '246 patent discloses that the sender of an electronic communication must affirmatively input domain field indicators for an intended recipient, wherein the communication and the domain field indicators are directed to a translation site for any appropriate translation, before the translated communication is forwarded to the intended recipient. As such, the '246 patent appears to presuppose that the sender is aware of the language preference of the recipient, and thus is able to designate the domain filed indicators in order to obtain the desired translation of the communication. Further, the '246 patent appears to address instances in which the sender may make use of the translation service, and does not appear to consider a situation of an incoming electronic communication for which the recipient may prefer to receive in a particular language.

As such, it appears that some of the prior art, while purporting to provide for convenient translation mechanisms for electronic communications, actually require affirmative actions on the part of the user (whether sender or recipient) and/or presuppose knowledge on the part of at least the sender of the communication as to the preferred language of the recipient. Thus, there exists a need for an electronic communication translation system, method, and/or computer program product which provides a translation scheme that does not necessarily pre-suppose knowledge of either party to an electronic communication, which is preferably substantially invisible to the parties, effectively functions for outgoing as well as incoming electronic communications, and does not necessarily require substantial affirmative action on the part of either party in order to receive the benefit of translated communications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other needs are met by embodiments of the present invention which, according to one aspect, provides a method for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptibly language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site. Such a method comprises dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network. At least a portion of the original communication is translated from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication. The translated communication is received at the destination site via the computer network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication. For purposes of this discussion of the present invention, it is recognized and understood that the terms 'computer network' and 'communication network' include, but are not limited to, computers connected via networks such as the Internet and similar protocols, as well as computers, cellular phones and other portable electronic devices connected via wireless networks. It is further recognized and understood that the term 'wireless networks' can include cellular, wideband, satellite and any other system using electromagnetic radiation for the purpose of communication.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptibly language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site. Such a method comprises dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with a computer network. At least a portion of the original communication is translated from the first language into at least the second language at a server device in the communications network so as to generate a translated communication. The translated communication is dispatched from the server device via the computer network to arrive at the destination site. The translated communication is received at the destination site and the translated communication then reproduced in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication. Still another aspect of the present invention provides a system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptibly language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site. Such a system comprises means for dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network; means for translating at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication; and means for receiving the translated communication at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptibly language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site. Such a system comprises a first computer device configured to dispatch an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network. A second computer device is configured to translate at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication. A third computer device is configured to receive the translated communication at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication. Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly perceptibly language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site. Such a system comprises a computer device associated with a communications network, the communications network being further associated with the computer network. The computer device is configured to translate at least a portion of an original communication dispatched from the originating site, from the first language into at least the second language, so as to generate a translated communication. The computer device is further configured to dispatch the translated communication via the communications network to the destination site. The translated communication received at the destination site is configured to be reproducible in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides means for analyzing the accuracy of the translation system, by establishing confidence levels for the system to measure and report on its performance. Confidence levels can be predefined, and may be adjustable as a user preference. In one embodiment of using such confidence levels, users can choose whether to receive detailed information about the accuracy of a given translated communication or user-defined set of translated communications. In another embodiment, the user can choose to receive translated communications that are reported by the translation means in a manner that reflects the level of confidence in the translation. Based on meeting, or failing to meet, predefined confidence levels, passages of text can be, for example, highlighted, color-coded, underlined, bolded, italicized, enlarged, reduced, indented and/or set off from other text. By way of example, and not limitation, a given translated communication could have those sections of text that fall below the highest confidence level, but above a lower cutoff confidence level limit, either highlighted in yellow or represented in yellow text, and certain other sections of text that fall below the lower cutoff confidence level limit either highlighted in red or represented as red text. A further aspect of the present invention provides means for enabling the translation means to be improved by incorporating additional material on a continuous, semi-continuous or batchwise basis. The additional material could take many forms, including but not limited to user-generated feedback, reference translations and dictionary editing. User-generated feedback can include information from surveys as well as comments reflecting translation errors and corrected translations. Reference translations are translations that have been validated as accurate and/or preferred. As such, reference translations are useful in building or enhancing translation engines. They may be weighted more heavily than other input to reflect their higher translation value. Dictionary editing is a general term that can include both modifications to a translation dictionary as well as the creation of the dictionary itself. Such editing can be done manually by humans, or automatically, through the use of scoring and weighting algorithms. Because some translation engines need to be rebuilt in order to incorporate new material, and because such rebuilding can take time, edits to such dictionaries may more effectively be done in batches.

Embodiments of the present invention thus provide significant advantages as further detailed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of an exemplary communications system capable of supporting an electronic communication between a sender and a recipient; FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electronic communication translation system according to one aspect of the present invention, with an electronic communication being received by an appropriately-configured server device; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic of an electronic communication translation system according to one aspect of the present invention, with an electronic communication being sent by an appropriately-configured server device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems, methods, and computer program products capable of cooperating to automatically translate incoming and outgoing electronic communications, such as e-mails, instant messages, or the like, at a domain boundary and in or during transmission of the electronic communication. Such communication is typically accomplished, as shown, for example, in FIG. 1, with respect to an electronic communication system 100 wherein one or more first computer devices 25 are capable of communicating through a first server device 200, over a communications network 225 and through a second server device 250, with one or more second computer devices 50. In some embodiments, the translation process is seamless and invisible to both user and recipient, possibly with the exception of the automatic inclusion of the source-language text ("original communication") in the message received by the recipient (whereby the recipient may receive both the original communication and the translated communication) and the destination-language text ("translated communication") received by the sender (whereby the sender may receive the translated communication demonstrating the extent and nature of the translation). Though particular reference is made herein to embodiments of the present invention being implemented in terms of an electronic mail message ("e-mail"), one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the scope of the present invention may include many different forms or manners of electronic communication, such as instant messages and text messages sent over wireless networks to phones and personal electronic devices, and that the e-mail example(s) presented herein are not intended to be limiting in this regard.

In order to facilitate the automatic translation process disclosed herein, embodiments of the present invention may be based on a "profile" registration scheme for both senders and recipients. That is, the corresponding system and/or method may first require that each e-mail address, whether associated with the sender or the recipient, be registered with the registration module 300 of a first server device 200 ("domain"), as shown, for example, in FIG. 2, in order to facilitate the translation of e-mail between e-mail addresses. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the "first server device 200" indicated herein as embodying systems, methods, and computer program products of the present invention is exemplified as such for the purposes of example and explanation only, and no particular significance is particularly indicated by the selection of the "server device" used for these purposes. Such a requirement may be applicable whether or not the recipient's e-mail address and/or the sender's e- mail address are within a closed universe (i.e., a single domain). In this manner, electronic communication users having an e-mail address registered with the server device 200 configured for the automatic translation process can have e-mail correspondence automatically translated between each other.

Registration with the server device 200 can be done through a variety of mechanisms, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. For example, a user may register with the server device 200 by way of a dedicated website. In such instances, in turn for providing particular user information, such as a language preference for received electronic messages, the user can have a particular electronic message address registered or be provided with a particular electronic message address (i.e., an e-mail address) associated with the server device 200. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that such a website registration is only one manner of determining user language preferences, as addressed further herein such as, for example, through an automated prompt for information to an unknown user (i.e., an unregistered e-mail address). However, one aspect of the present invention is premised on a registration/user profile accomplished through registration with the server device 200.

In some instances, when a registered recipient (represented in FIG. 2, for example, by the first computer device 25) is receiving an e-mail at the server device 200 (representing, for example, a "domain") configured in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the e-mail address of the outside sender (i.e., outside the domain of the server device 200, and represented, for example, by the second computer device 50) is first checked against the registrations / registered addresses or profiles within the server device 200 by a registration module 300 in communication therewith. If the outside sender's e-mail address is registered and the appropriate language field is represented in the corresponding profile for that e-mail address, the source language (i.e., the language in which the e-mail is sent by the outside sender 50) is determined from the outside sender's profile within the registration module 300. In addition, since the recipient's e-mail address is already registered with the server device 200 as a prerequisite of having an e-mail address within that domain, the language in which the recipient prefers to receive an incoming e-mail ("destination language") is known a priori by the registration module 300.

According to some aspects of the invention, incoming (or outgoing) electronic communications with respect to the server device 200 may be monitored by a dedicated server module or other component (not shown) that monitors incoming (as well as outgoing e-mail) electronic communications to the particular domain (server device 200), and may determine, for example, the routing of e-mail (or electronic communication) to appropriate modules of the server device 200 (i.e., the language identification module 400, the registration server 300, and/or the translation module 600, as further discussed herein). In some instances, the dedicated server module may perform other actions with respect to an e-mail or other electronic communication, including, for example, parsing of message content and reconstruction of identified or translated message content.

Further, in a general sense, the registration module 300 may be configured to store, track, and maintain the registration of particular e-mail addresses and their indicated, selected, or otherwise assigned language preference. This registration can be likened to, for example, a profile repository, where each registered e-mail address, whether sender or recipient, has a corresponding profile that includes a language preference field or other setting. However, additional attributes can be included in any such profile, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. Such additional attributes may include, for example, the context of e-mail content (i.e., survey, research, and/or medical subject matter) and custom personal dictionaries. By default, all users within the domain of the server device 200, whether sender or recipient, are registered with the registration module 300. If both the source and destination languages are the same as determined by the registration module 300, the e-mail is forwarded, without any alteration or translation, to the recipient (the first computer device 25) by the registration module 300 of the server device 200 (shown by arrow 310). If the source language is different from the destination language as determined by the registration module 300, the e-mail is forwarded to a translation module 600 (shown by arrow 320) for the source language to be translated into the destination language before the translated e-mail is forwarded to the recipient (the first computer device 25) from the translation module 600 (shown by arrow 330). In instances where the "outside sender 50" (i.e., the outside sender's e-mail address) is not, or cannot be, confirmed by the registration module 300 as being registered with the server device 200 of the recipient's domain, the outside sender's e- mail may be directed to a language identification module 400 (shown by arrow 340) in order to identify the source language. In this regard, the language identification module 400 may be configured to parse the e-mail and, using an automatic language identification scheme, as will be appreciated by on skilled in the art. In this regard, automatic language identification may be performed on any part of the e-mail, the entire e-mail, and/or any attachments thereto. For example, in instances where two or more separate parsed portions of the e-mail are determined to be in the same language, the remainder of the e-mail may be presumed to be in the same language without further language identification processing. In such instances, the truncation of the language identification processing may provide certain technical effects such as, for instance, reducing processing demand by the server device 200, expediting any necessary translation, and/or reducing the apparent transmission time for the e-mail. However, if inconsistencies exist in the language identified for separate parsed portions of the e-mail, language identification processing may be applied to the entire e-mail message. In this manner, an e-mail written in more than one language, or an e- mail that includes slang or other specialized terms, may be fully translated, if necessary. That is, all languages, slang, or other terms may be identified such that the e-mail can be translated throughout, if required or appropriate, which also results in certain technical effects, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. According to one aspect of the present invention, the language identification module 400 may utilize an n-gram language model trained on X source languages in order to identify the language of an incoming e-mail or other electronic communication, in instances where the outside sender is not registered with the server device 200.

Once the source language(s) of the outside sender's e-mail is determined, the registration module 300 may be appropriately notified by the language identification module 400 (shown by arrow 340), whereby the registration module 300, in response, may form a "profile" associated with the outside sender's e-mail address for future e- mails received by the server device 200 from that e-mail address. That is, future e- mails received from the e-mail address of the now-registered outside sender 50, in some instances, could be presumed to be written in the source language indicated by the corresponding profile, and would thus be treated accordingly. In addition, the identified source language of the outside sender's e-mail may be compared with the destination language preference indicated by the recipient's e-mail address profile, for example, by the language identification module 400, the registration module 300, and/or a comparator module 500 (shown by arrows 350 and 360). As a result, the outside sender's e-mail message could then be sent directly to the recipient, if no translation from the source language to the destination language is required (shown by arrow 370). Otherwise, the outside sender's e-mail message is sent to the translation module 600, if translation thereof is required between the source language and the destination language (shown by arrow 380). Where multiple recipients are designated by the outside sender, and each recipient is registered with the server device 200, the source language is compared with the destination language for each recipient, and the outside sender's e-mail message is translated, as necessary and/or appropriate, before being forwarded from the server device 200 to the respective recipient.

According to some aspects of the invention, the translation module 600 may utilize a statistical machine translation (SMT) system to translate the content of an e- mail, an electronic communication, or attachments thereto. The translation module may further utilize multiple domain-specific translation models (i.e., domain-specific being intended to indicate the context of subject area, rather than e-mail domain or domain associated with the server device 200). In some instances, one or more appropriate translation models may be selected based on, for example, particular profile fields associated with an e-mail address in the registration server 300. The translation module 600 may also, in some instances, include the capability of augmenting the SMT system with custom personal dictionaries, as associated with an e-mail address in the registration server 300. In instances where a particularly designated recipient is not registered with the registration module 300 of the server device 200, one of several schemes may be implemented. In one instance, the sender's e-mail message may be merely forwarded, without alteration, from the outside sender 50 to the non-registered recipient (not shown) by the server device 200. In other instances, the registration module 300 may forward the sender's e-mail message to the non-registered recipient with an invitation to register (i.e., form a profile with the server device 200 and indicate a destination language preference). If the non-registered recipient does respond and register with the registration module 300, the sender's e-mail message may be appropriately translated by the translation module 600 and re-sent to the now-registered recipient. In still other instances, for example, an identifier module (not shown) may attempt to identify or make a "best guess" determination of the non-registered recipient's language preference, for instance, by identifying one or more particular domain fields in the non-registered recipient's e-mail address. In such instances, the sender's original e-mail message, along with a "best guess" translation, may be forwarded to the non-registered recipient. In still further instances, if the "best guess" determination of the non-registered recipient's language preference is uncertain, but could fall under a number of different languages, the sender's original e-mail message could be forwarded to the non-registered recipient with a selection menu of offered translations. If the non-registered recipient selects one or more of the offered options from the menu, the selection may trigger an automated response to the registration module 300 for associating a particular language preference associated with the recipient's e-mail address. In such a manner, the previously non-registered recipient may now become registered with the server device 200 for future messages directed to that e-mail address, and the translation device 600 may also re-send the sender's e- mail message to the now-registered recipient in appropriately translated form. Of course, the course of action for a non-registered recipient may be a combination of any or all of the above alternatives.

Similarly to the above situation involving an e-mail message from an outside sender to a list of recipients, including a non-registered recipient, aspects of the present invention may also account for instances where a registered sender 25 (i.e., having an e-mail address registered in and under the domain of the server device 200) is seeking to send an electronic communication to an non-registered recipient 50 (as previously discussed, other aspects of the present invention do account for situations in which the sender and recipient are both registered with the server device 200, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art). For example, the sender 25 may be sending a message to the intended recipient 50 for the first time, wherein the intended recipient 50 may not be known to the server device 200. Such a situation is shown, for example, in FIG. 3.

In one instance, the sender's e-mail message may be merely forwarded, without alteration, from the sender 25 to the non-registered recipient 50 by the server device 200. However, in other instances, the registration module 300 may forward the sender's e-mail message to the non-registered recipient 50 with an invitation to register (i.e., form a profile with the server device 200 and indicate a destination language preference). If the non-registered recipient 50 does respond and register with the registration module 300, the sender's e-mail message may be appropriately translated by the translation module 600 and re-sent to the now-registered recipient 50. In still other instances, for example, an identifier module 700 may attempt to identify or make a "best guess" determination of the non-registered recipient's language preference, for instance, by identifying one or more particular domain fields in the non-registered recipient's e-mail address. In such instances, the sender's original e-mail message, along with a "best guess" translation (which may involve parsing the message content, as previously discussed in relation to language identification, which may thereby provide the capability of translating an electronic communication written in more than one language or including slang, colloquialisms, technical terms, or the like), may be forwarded to the non-registered recipient 50. In still further instances, if the "best guess" determination of the non-registered recipient's language preference is uncertain, but could fall under a number of different languages, the sender's original e-mail message could be forwarded to the non- registered recipient 50 with a selection menu of offered translations (or the sender could be prompted to provide suggestions). If the non-registered recipient 50 selects one or more of the offered options from the menu, the selection may trigger an automated response to the registration module 300 for associating a particular language preference associated with the recipient's e-mail address. In such a manner, the previously non-registered recipient 50 may now become registered with the server device 200 for future messages directed to that e-mail address, and the translation device 600 may also re-send the sender's e-mail message to the now-registered recipient 50 in appropriately translated form. Of course, the course of action for a non-registered recipient may be a combination of any or all of the above alternatives.

According to one aspect of the present invention, if translation of an electronic communication is performed "in transmittal" as determined by the server device 200, a copy of the translated message content may be forwarded back to the sender for the sender's records. In some instances, the recipient may receive both a copy of the translated message content and the original message content. Further, indicated language preferences may be provided to the sender and/or recipient as necessary or desirable. Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For instance, certain embodiments are premised on the source and destination languages are in a humanly perceptible language, non-inclusively such as Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,

Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo- Croatian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian. However, in some instances, the source and destination languages may be languages that are not humanly perceptible, for example, where communication is between machines operating on different protocols. Additionally, in some instances, the source and destination languages may be different dialects, or other variants such as instant messaging shorthand, of the same language. Still further, aspects of the present invention may implement alternatives to or modifications of the "profile" model disclosed with respect to the registration scheme for e-mail addresses. For example, a Domain Name System (DNS) may be implemented for managing user profiles. Of course, the systems and methods disclosed herein may also have and/or require associated computer program products for accomplishing the necessary functionality, and such is considered to be within the scope of the present invention, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

THAT WHICH IS CLAIMED:

1. A method for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly-perceptible language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, the method comprising the steps of: dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network; translating at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication; and receiving the translated communication at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

2. A method for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly-perceptible language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, the method comprising the steps of: dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network; translating at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language at a server device in the communications network so as to generate a translated communication; dispatching the translated communication from the server device via the computer network to arrive at the destination site; receiving the translated communication at the destination site; and reproducing the translated communication in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

3. A method according to Claim 2 wherein dispatching the original communication via a communications network further comprises dispatching the original communication via a global computer network according to Internet Protocol.

4. A method according to Claim 2 wherein dispatching the original communication via a communications network further comprises dispatching the original communication via at least one of an Intranet and a local area network.

5. A method according to Claim 2 further comprising dispatching the translated communication from the server device via the computer network to arrive at the originating site, and reproducing the translated communication in a humanly perceptible manner such that a sender can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

6. A method according to Claim 2 further comprising dispatching the original communication from the server device via the computer network to arrive at the destination site, and reproducing the original communication in a humanly perceptible manner such that the intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the original communication.

7. A method according to Claim 2 wherein reproducing the translated communication further comprises reproducing the translated communication in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient is not aware of the translation.

8. A method according to Claim 2 wherein translating at least a portion of the original communication further comprises translating an electronic mail message and any attachments to the electronic mail message.

9. A method according to Claim 2 wherein translating at least a portion of the original communication further comprises translating at least a portion of the original communication at the server in accordance with a destination language preference registered with the server device by the intended recipient.

10. A system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly-perceptible language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, the system comprising: means for dispatching an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network; means for translating at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication; and means for receiving the translated communication at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

11. A system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly-perceptible language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, the system comprising: a first computer device configured to dispatch an original communication from the originating site via a communications network associated with the computer network; a second computer device configured to translate at least a portion of the original communication from the first language into at least the second language so as to generate a translated communication; and a third computer device configured to receive the translated communication at the destination site via the communication network in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

12. A system for translating, from a first humanly perceptible language to at least a second humanly-perceptible language, a communication transmitted via a computer network from an originating site to a destination site, the system comprising: a computer device associated with a communications network, the communications network being associated with the computer network, the computer device being configured to translate at least a portion of an original communication dispatched from the originating site, from the first language into at least the second language, so as to generate a translated communication, the computer device being further configured to dispatch the translated communication via the communications network to the destination site, the translated communication received at the destination site being configured to be reproducible in a humanly perceptible manner such that an intended recipient can comprehend the contents of the translated communication.

13. A system according to Claim 10, further comprising means for improving said translation means.

14. A system according to Claim 13, wherein said means for improving comprises means for accepting input and adjusting said translation means on the basis of said input.

15. A system according to Claim 14, wherein said input comprises at least one of user-generated feedback, reference translations and dictionary editing.

16. A system according to Claim 10, further comprising means for measuring accuracy of said translated communication.

17. A system according to Claim 16, wherein said means for measuring accuracy comprises one or more confidence levels.

18. A system according to Claim 17, further comprising a means for reporting accuracy to a user.

19. A system according to Claim 18, wherein said means for reporting comprises a means for marking text that exceeds a particular confidence level differently than text that falls below said particular confidence level.

20. A system according to Claim 19, wherein said means for marking text comprises at least one of highlighting, color-coding, underlining, holding, italicizing, enlarging, reducing, indenting and setting off from other text.