Method of processing multi-lingual queries

A computer-implemented method of processing a transmission between a user and a database, wherein the database contains elements which conform to a base language, wherein elements are contained in the transmission, and wherein references in a query to elements in the database conform to a user language, the method comprising the steps of:

• in response to the query to the database providing elements from the database requested in the query, which elements can comprise words in the base language, wherein the query is generated at a user device and wherein the elements that are requested are supplied to the user device;
• performing a natural language translation between words in elements in the base language and in the user language;
• characterized in that the method further comprises the steps of:
• determining whether the transmission relates to a query or a response from the database, and
• if it relates to a query, restricting translation to a list of predetermined translation relations;
• and
• if it relates to a response, looking up the list to find a translation relation for a word in the response, and if no such translation relation exists for the word in the list, transmitting the word to a translation service to subsequently receive a translation relation between the word and a corresponding word in the user language, which translation relation is stored in the list.