A Goal-Oriented Model of Natural Language Interaction
Abstract
This report summarizes a research program in modeling human communicative ability. The methodology involved selecting a single, naturally- occurring dialogue, instructing a human observer to extract certain aspects of the dialogue relating to its comprehension, and then using these aspects to guide the model building and verification activity. Behind the model is the development of an innovative theory of language, according to which people engage in language behavior in order to pursue their own goals. Dialogues communicate effectively because of a shared understanding of a collection of interrelated, cooperative goal structures, held and pursued by the language users. The recognition of this shared knowledge within the model contributed to an initial accounting of implicit communication. The report contains a detailed statement of the problem, a review of the state of related research, a description of the contributions of this research to linguistic theory, and an explanation of the research methodology. It then describes the model in its current state of development and discusses a detailed simulation of it. Next the role of the Observer in the research is explored with emphasis on the nature of his task.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA037111
Entities
People
- James A. Levin
- James A. Moore
- William C. Mann
Organizations
- University of Southern California