Retrieving matching documents by queries in any national language

A method of searching a database including documents written in more than one language, the steps of the method comprising:

• creating a searching tool identifying keyword search terms on each document aligned with their keywords with a synonymous meaning in other supported languages;
• identifying search documents using keyword search terms in any supported language to interrogate the searching tool using a search engine responsive to keyword search terms in to both the search language and other supported languages;
• and
• providing a list of retrieved documents in multiple languages based on the search terms and their aligned synonyms.

A system for searching a database of documents based on an input search, the system comprising:

• a list of keywords which includes, for each of a plurality of documents in the database, keywords with synonymous meanings in at least a first and a second language;
• an inverted index for the plurality of documents of the database including the keywords with synonymous meaning in the list;
• and
• a search engine responsive to keywords in both the first and second languages, said search engine using the inverted index to obtain a set of results which include the documents which correspond to input keyword search terms in the first or input language and which includes documents which are in the second language.

A computer program on a computer usable medium for searching a database of documents based on an input search, the software comprising:

• software for a list of keywords which includes, for each of a plurality of documents in the database, keywords with synonymous meanings in at least a first and a second language;
• software for an inverted index for the plurality of documents of the database including the keywords with synonymous meaning in the list;
• and
• software for a search engine responsive to keywords in both the first and second languages, said search engine using the inverted index to obtain a set of results which include the documents which correspond to input keyword search terms in the first or input language and which includes documents which are in the second language.