Making Inferences in Natural Language Dialogs

Abstract

This paper discusses the need in a natural language understanding system for a model of the speaker and of the conversation process itself. Most current programs use models of the domain of discourse to supply the knowledge necessary to understand what is being talked about. (See, e.g., Schank[1973] or Charmak [ 1972 J.) For example, Schank's system might contain a restaurant "script", listing all of the actions one normally does at a restaurant, from entering and being seated to paying the check and leaving. Such systems appear to be based on the idea that natural language texts are mostly assertions about the domain of discourse, and can be mapped into additions to a data base involving this domain.