3.3.1 Introduction of Dialogue Acts

This shift from original speech acts is captured in naming acts used in dialogue modeling dialogue acts.

In order to model dialogue by use of speech acts there is a need to enrich the original notion and do away with the simplifying assumptions that it presupposes. In other words, the multiple function of a single utterance at the speech act level has to be accounted for. Moreover, communication cannot be assumed, understanding has to be established. Finally, speech acts cannot be interpreted outside the context in which they appear as they are commonly only one part of a higher, more complicated goal. This shift from original speech acts is captured in naming acts used in dialogue modeling dialogue acts .

An empirical approach to dialogue act modeling, that is one that is grounded in actual data, presupposes that the data are annotated for the dialogue acts each theory/genre/domain makes use of. That is not a trivial task. For one it is very time consuming. The practical exercise of this lecture will give you the opportunity to discover for yourself what annotating data involves, as well as an understanding of the connection between annotation and theory.