ITR: Adaptive Spoken Dialog with Human and Computer Partners

该项目采用创新和多学科的方法来描述口语的产生和解释如何在对话中协调。它考察了人们如何通过发音（如方言）、节奏、用词、句子结构和观点的变化来适应人和计算机的对话伙伴。适应包括那些使双方更容易处理的适应，比如在相同的措辞上趋同；它们还包括一方“为”另一方所做的调整。人类对话的发现将应用于使用语音识别和生成的系统，其目标是：(1)让用户适应系统可以更稳健地处理的话语形式，以及(2)在可行的情况下，使系统的词汇、方言和视角适应用户的需求。该项目汇集了计算机科学、语言学和心理学的方法和理论观点，以推进理论和改进应用。方法包括实验室实验、语料库研究和模拟研究，并结合口语对话系统的原型和评估。三个应用程序计划：一个图片匹配游戏，一个基于pda的日历系统，一个基于电话的本科社区课程评估系统。该项目将加强对计算机科学、语言学和心理学方面的青年科学家的培训，并将包括基础研究和用户界面工程方面代表性不足的群体。更广泛的影响将为开发灵活和强大的口语对话系统提供科学基础，以满足不同用户的需求。具体的应用机会包括移动计算，教育评估，非标准发音的机器语音识别，以及听力受损或第二语言学习者的辅导系统。

This project takes an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to characterizing how spoken language production and interpretation are coordinated in dialog. It examines how people adapt to both human and computer conversational partners, through variation in pronunciation (e.g, dialect), rhythm, word choice, sentence structure, and perspective. Adaptations include those that make processing easier for both partners, such as converging on the same wording; they also include adjustments made by one partner "for" the other. Findings from human dialog will be applied to systems that use speech recognition and generation, with the goals of (1) getting users to adapt utterances to forms the system can process more robustly, and (2) whenever feasible, adapting the system's vocabulary, dialect, and perspective to the user's' needs. The project brings together methods and theoretical perspectives from computer science, linguistics and psychology to advance theories and improve applications. Methods include laboratory experiments, corpus studies, and simulation studies, integrated with prototyping and evaluation of spoken dialog systems. Three applications are planned: a picture matching game, a PDA-based calendar system, and a telephone-based course evaluation system for an undergraduate community. The project will enhance training of young scientists in computer science, linguistics and psychology, and will include underrepresented groups in basic research and user-interface engineering. The broader impact will be a scientific foundation for developing flexible and robust spoken dialog systems that serve the needs of diverse users. Specific application opportunities include mobile computing, educational assessment, machine speech recognition of non-standard pronunciation, and tutoring systems for the hearing impaired or second-language learners.