Abstract
In this paper we consider how control (initiative) is managed in task-oriented dialogues. We propose that control is subordinate to discourse structure. The initiator of a discourse structure segment has control for the entire segment, except occasionally when the non-initiator takes control briefly, then control generally reverts immediately back to the segment initiator, or a new block begins. In analyzing dialogues from the TRAINS corpus we find that inside a segment initiated by one speaker, the other speaker only makes two types of contributions: collaborative completions, in which the non-initiator helps the segment initiator achieve their goal of completing an utterance, and short contributions to the discourse segment purpose. The proposal has important implications for dialogue management: a system only needs to model intentional structure, from which control follows.
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Strayer, S.E., Heeman, P.A., Yang, F. (2003). Reconciling Control and Discourse Structure. In: van Kuppevelt, J., Smith, R.W. (eds) Current and New Directions in Discourse and Dialogue. Text, Speech and Language Technology, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0019-2_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0019-2_14
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