Abstract: A method of processing an input text comprising a plurality of words is provided. The method comprising the steps of deriving from the input text a plurality of sets such that each set comprises at least one of the words of the input text, all of the words of each set are present in the input text, and the words of each if any set containing more than one word constitute a collocation; assigning to each set a unique relative rank; comparing each set in order of decreasing relative rank with the input text; and selecting each set, all of whose words are present in the input text and none of whose words is present in a previously selected set of higher relative rank.

Abstract: A method for forming an index comprising indexing features for a plurality of documents, includes the steps of identifying each of at least some of the terms present in the documents, generating from each identified term at least one equivalent term which is different from but linguistically related to the identified term, forming for each of the identified terms a first indexing feature comprising the identified term and an identifier of the or each document in which the identified term occurs, forming for each of the equivalent terms a second indexing feature comprising the equivalent term and an identifier of the or each document in which the identifier term to which the equivalent term is equivalent occurs, and forming an index comprising the first and second indexing features.

Abstract: A method of retrieving information from a plurality of documents in a target language using a query in a source language, includes the steps of converting the query into the target language using a multilingual resource, forming a query in the target language from the converted query, applying the query in the target language to an information management system, and converting at least part of the or each document in the target language identified by the information management system into the source language using the multilingual resource.

Abstract: An apparatus for identifying collocates in a phrase to be processed comprises input means for inputting the phrase to be processed, processing means for determining, for each word in the phrase, whether a word is a collocate and output means for outputting the phrase. The processing means is adapted to identify collocates belonging to a first collocation in a first manner in the output phrase, and to identify collocates belonging to a second collocation in a second manner in the output phrase. The second manner is different from the first manner.