Repairing conversational misunderstandings and non-understandings. Hirst, G., McRoy, S., Heeman, P. A., Edmonds, P., & Horton, D. Speech communication, 15(3–4):213–229, December, 1994.
abstract   bibtex   
Participants in a discourse sometimes fail to understand one another, but, when aware of the problem, collaborate upon or negotiate the meaning of a problematic utterance. To address nonunderstanding, we have developed two plan-based models of collaboration in identifying the correct referent of a description: one covers situations where both conversants know of the referent, and the other covers situations, such as direction-giving, where the recipient does not. In the models, conversants use the mechanisms of refashioning, suggestion, and elaboration, to collaboratively refine a referring expression until it is successful. To address misunderstanding, we have developed a model that combines intentional and social accounts of discourse to support the negotiation of meaning. The approach extends intentional accounts by using expectations deriving from social conventions in order to guide interpretation. Reflecting the inherent symmetry of the negotiation of meaning, all our models can act as both speaker and hearer, and can play both the role of the conversant who is not understood or misunderstood and the role of the conversant who fails to understand.
@Article{	  hirst16,
  author	= {Graeme Hirst and Susan McRoy and Peter A. Heeman and
		  Philip Edmonds and Diane Horton},
  title		= {Repairing conversational misunderstandings and
		  non-understandings},
  journal	= {Speech communication},
  volume	= {15},
  number	= {3--4},
  month		= {December},
  year		= {1994},
  pages		= {213--229},
  abstract	= {Participants in a discourse sometimes fail to understand
		  one another, but, when aware of the problem, collaborate
		  upon or negotiate the meaning of a problematic utterance.
		  To address nonunderstanding, we have developed two
		  plan-based models of collaboration in identifying the
		  correct referent of a description: one covers situations
		  where both conversants know of the referent, and the other
		  covers situations, such as direction-giving, where the
		  recipient does not. In the models, conversants use the
		  mechanisms of refashioning, suggestion, and elaboration, to
		  collaboratively refine a referring expression until it is
		  successful. To address misunderstanding, we have developed
		  a model that combines intentional and social accounts of
		  discourse to support the negotiation of meaning. The
		  approach extends intentional accounts by using expectations
		  deriving from social conventions in order to guide
		  interpretation. Reflecting the inherent symmetry of the
		  negotiation of meaning, all our models can act as both
		  speaker and hearer, and can play both the role of the
		  conversant who is not understood or misunderstood and the
		  role of the conversant who fails to understand.},
  download	= {http://ftp.cs.toronto.edu/pub/gh/Hirst-etal-1994.pdf}
}

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