Language Independent Querying for Information Discovery - LIQUID

Currently available search engines do not address the issues of the linguistic barrier between the diverse languages in use on the web. The query language normally determines the language of the returned documents. Overcoming this barrier is essential in fulfilling the vision of the Information Society, as well as for tackling the linguistics issues from a technological perspective.

The goal of LIQUID is to develop a system that, given a query in a particular language—usually the native language of the user—will return relevant documents in any of the languages available in the multilingual text database.

LIQUID aims therefore at developing a cost effective solution for the general problem of cross-lingual access to text databases, particularly for technical and scientific domains, based on a multilingual semantic network approach. Four languages will be considered in the project—English, French, German and Spanish.

OBJECTIVES

The principal objective of the project is to develop a query interface which, starting from a query in the user's native language, returns relevant document in any of the languages available in the text database.

There are three sub-objectives towards achieving this goal:

• development of the modules comprising the LIQUD demonstrator and their integration into a prototype
• evaluation of the technology developed, validation of the individual modules and final user testing of the integrated system
• production of a market analysis report for the LIQUID products and services plus and an implementation plan.

In the first instance project LIQUID is focusing on the domain of gastroenterology to demonstrate its capabilities. A prototype system will be developed towards the end of the project.

Go to the LIQUID web site

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Last updated: 09.12.2002

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