Visualizing spoken discourse: prosodic form and discourse functions of interruptions

Authors:
Li-chiung Yang
Affiliations:
CREST, ATR, Seika-cho Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan
Venue:
SIGDIAL '01 Proceedings of the Second SIGdial Workshop on Discourse and Dialogue - Volume 16
Year:
2001

Citing 3
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Abstract

In this paper we show that interruptions are important elements in the interactive character of discourse and in the resolution of issues of cognitive uncertainty and planning. By representing discourse graphically, we also show that interruptions are part of the local and global coherence that is brought about through the systematic phrase-to-phrase prosodic patterns of discourse. The specific pitch height of the interruption varies with the expression of emotion, signals of attention-getting, and signals of competitiveness. These prosodic forms are potentially usable in spoken dialogue systems to provide intelligent responding systems that are responsive to human motivations in dialogues.