System and method for inputting text into electronic devices

A method for processing text data by a computing device comprising a processor and memory, the method comprising:

• receiving data indicative of a sequence of characters of entered text;
• generating from the sequence of characters a sequence of one or more word-segments;
• comparing the sequence of one or more word-segments to a stored sequence of word segments;
• predicting, based on a hybrid language model, including a word language model and a word-segment language model, and a stored sequence of word-segments, a next word-segment in the sequence, wherein a single word is formed using the next word-segment in the sequence and the sequence of characters, and wherein the single word differs in at least one word-segment from all stored words in the hybrid language model at a time of predicting the next word-segment in the sequence and wherein each word-segment of the sequence and the next word-segment correspond to respective stored word-segments of the hybrid language model;
• and
• outputting the single word as a next word prediction.

A computing device comprising a processor and memory, the computing device configured to:

• generate from a sequence of characters of entered text, a sequence of one or more word-segments;
• compare the sequence of one or more word-segments to a stored sequence of word-segments;
• modify, based on a hybrid language model, including a word language model and a word-segment language model, and the stored sequence of word-segments, at least one of the word-segments of the sequence of one or more word-segments such that the at least one modified word-segment corresponds to a stored word-segment in the hybrid language model, and wherein a single word is formed using the modified word-segment and unmodified word-segments of the sequence of one or more word-segments, and wherein the single word differs in at least one word-segment from all stored words in the hybrid language model at a time of modification to the at least one of the word-segments of the sequence and wherein each word-segment of the sequence corresponds to a respective stored word-segment of the hybrid language model;
• and
• outputting the word as a candidate prediction.