In this paper we set out three consequences of a game-theoretic model for conversation, Message E... more In this paper we set out three consequences of a game-theoretic model for conversation, Message Exchange (ME) Games (Asher et al., 2016), which we think are of linguistic interest. We develop a notion of conversational success, explain subjectivity and bias in interpretation using concepts from epistemic game theory, and characterize the strategic usefulness of using so called expressions of "not at issue" content using ME games.
This paper describes the STAC resource, a corpus of multi-party chats annotated for discourse str... more This paper describes the STAC resource, a corpus of multi-party chats annotated for discourse structure in the style of SDRT (Asher and Lascarides, 2003; Lascarides and Asher, 2009). The main goal of the STAC project is to study the discourse structure of multi-party dialogues in order to understand the linguistic strategies adopted by interlocutors to achieve their conversational goals, especially when these goals are opposed. The STAC corpus is not only a rich source of data on strategic conversation, but also the first corpus that we are aware of that provides full discourse structures for multi-party dialogues. It has other remarkable features that make it an interesting resource for other topics: interleaved threads, creative language, and interactions between linguistic and extra-linguistic contexts.
In this paper, we propose a computational model that accounts for the effects of negation and mod... more In this paper, we propose a computational model that accounts for the effects of negation and modality on opinion expressions. Based on linguistic experiments informed by native speakers, we distil these effects according to the type of modality and negation. The model relies on a parabolic representation where an opinion expression is represented as a point on a parabola. Negation is modelled as functions over this parabola whereas modality through a family of parabolas of different slopes; each slope corresponds to a different certainty degree. The model is evaluated using two experiments, one involving direct strength judgements on a 7-point scale and the other relying on a sentiment annotated corpus. The empirical evaluation of our model shows that it matches the way humans handle negation and modality in opinionated sentences
This paper describes a corpus of situated multiparty chats developed for the STAC project (Strate... more This paper describes a corpus of situated multiparty chats developed for the STAC project (Strategic Conversation, ERC grant n. 269427). and annotated for discourse structure in the style of Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT; Asher & Lascarides,2003). The STAC corpus is not only a rich source of data on strategic conversation, but also the first corpus that we are aware of that provides discourse structures for multiparty dialogues situated within a virtual environment. The corpus was annotated in two stages: we initially annotated the chat moves only, but later decided to annotate interactions between the chat moves and non-linguistic events from the virtual environment. This two-step procedure has allowed us quantify various ways in which adding information from the nonlinguistic context affects dialogue structure. In this paper, we look at how annotations based only on linguistic information were preserved once the nonlinguistic context was factored in. We exp...
Hunter (2016) proposed that a speech report with a parenthetical interpretation but non-parenthet... more Hunter (2016) proposed that a speech report with a parenthetical interpretation but non-parenthetical syntax will contribute a modal discourse relation of the form ⌃R to discourse logical form. This paper provides a compositional account of the mechanism by which these modal relations are triggered. It then extends Hunter’s proposal to reports involving factive embedding verbs and provides an explanation of why explicit discourse connectives sometimes block parenthetical readings of reports in their scope.
Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media
New social networks and platforms such as Telegram, Gab and Parler offer a stage for extremist, r... more New social networks and platforms such as Telegram, Gab and Parler offer a stage for extremist, racist and aggressive content, but also provide a safe space for freedom fighters in authoritarian regimes. Data from such platforms offer excellent opportunities for research on issues such as linguistic bias and toxic language detection. However, only a few, mostly unannotated, English-only corpora from such platforms exist. This article presents a new Telegram corpus in Russian and Belorussian languages tailored for research on linguistic bias in political news. In addition, we created a repository to make all currently available corpora from so-called "dark" platforms accessible in one place.
International audienceSelective formulations and selective reporting of facts in political news a... more International audienceSelective formulations and selective reporting of facts in political news are deliberately used to create particular identities of different political sides. This becomes evident in media dialogue reporting about political conflicts. In contrast to most NLP-based studies of linguistic bias, we engage critically with its nature, aiming at a later de-biasing or at least raising awareness about linguistic bias in political news. We found inspiration in conversation analysis (CA), membership categorisation analysis (MCA) and a game-theoretic approach to discourse called epistemic message exchange (ME) games. We identified three types of bias: selective reports about facts, selective formulations when reporting about the same facts, and different histories built up by the differences in the first two. We extend the epistemic ME games model with findings from a qualitative study.Les formulations et les comptes rendus sélectifs des faits dans les informations politiqu...
Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM ha... more Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM has opted to expose the complete List rather than only correct and linked references. ... Wierzbicka A., Speech Act Verbs, Sydney: Academic Press, 1987. ... N. Asher and A Lascarides, ...
In this paper we set out three consequences of a game-theoretic model for conversation, Message E... more In this paper we set out three consequences of a game-theoretic model for conversation, Message Exchange (ME) Games (Asher et al., 2016), which we think are of linguistic interest. We develop a notion of conversational success, explain subjectivity and bias in interpretation using concepts from epistemic game theory, and characterize the strategic usefulness of using so called expressions of "not at issue" content using ME games.
This paper describes the STAC resource, a corpus of multi-party chats annotated for discourse str... more This paper describes the STAC resource, a corpus of multi-party chats annotated for discourse structure in the style of SDRT (Asher and Lascarides, 2003; Lascarides and Asher, 2009). The main goal of the STAC project is to study the discourse structure of multi-party dialogues in order to understand the linguistic strategies adopted by interlocutors to achieve their conversational goals, especially when these goals are opposed. The STAC corpus is not only a rich source of data on strategic conversation, but also the first corpus that we are aware of that provides full discourse structures for multi-party dialogues. It has other remarkable features that make it an interesting resource for other topics: interleaved threads, creative language, and interactions between linguistic and extra-linguistic contexts.
In this paper, we propose a computational model that accounts for the effects of negation and mod... more In this paper, we propose a computational model that accounts for the effects of negation and modality on opinion expressions. Based on linguistic experiments informed by native speakers, we distil these effects according to the type of modality and negation. The model relies on a parabolic representation where an opinion expression is represented as a point on a parabola. Negation is modelled as functions over this parabola whereas modality through a family of parabolas of different slopes; each slope corresponds to a different certainty degree. The model is evaluated using two experiments, one involving direct strength judgements on a 7-point scale and the other relying on a sentiment annotated corpus. The empirical evaluation of our model shows that it matches the way humans handle negation and modality in opinionated sentences
This paper describes a corpus of situated multiparty chats developed for the STAC project (Strate... more This paper describes a corpus of situated multiparty chats developed for the STAC project (Strategic Conversation, ERC grant n. 269427). and annotated for discourse structure in the style of Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT; Asher & Lascarides,2003). The STAC corpus is not only a rich source of data on strategic conversation, but also the first corpus that we are aware of that provides discourse structures for multiparty dialogues situated within a virtual environment. The corpus was annotated in two stages: we initially annotated the chat moves only, but later decided to annotate interactions between the chat moves and non-linguistic events from the virtual environment. This two-step procedure has allowed us quantify various ways in which adding information from the nonlinguistic context affects dialogue structure. In this paper, we look at how annotations based only on linguistic information were preserved once the nonlinguistic context was factored in. We exp...
Hunter (2016) proposed that a speech report with a parenthetical interpretation but non-parenthet... more Hunter (2016) proposed that a speech report with a parenthetical interpretation but non-parenthetical syntax will contribute a modal discourse relation of the form ⌃R to discourse logical form. This paper provides a compositional account of the mechanism by which these modal relations are triggered. It then extends Hunter’s proposal to reports involving factive embedding verbs and provides an explanation of why explicit discourse connectives sometimes block parenthetical readings of reports in their scope.
Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media
New social networks and platforms such as Telegram, Gab and Parler offer a stage for extremist, r... more New social networks and platforms such as Telegram, Gab and Parler offer a stage for extremist, racist and aggressive content, but also provide a safe space for freedom fighters in authoritarian regimes. Data from such platforms offer excellent opportunities for research on issues such as linguistic bias and toxic language detection. However, only a few, mostly unannotated, English-only corpora from such platforms exist. This article presents a new Telegram corpus in Russian and Belorussian languages tailored for research on linguistic bias in political news. In addition, we created a repository to make all currently available corpora from so-called "dark" platforms accessible in one place.
International audienceSelective formulations and selective reporting of facts in political news a... more International audienceSelective formulations and selective reporting of facts in political news are deliberately used to create particular identities of different political sides. This becomes evident in media dialogue reporting about political conflicts. In contrast to most NLP-based studies of linguistic bias, we engage critically with its nature, aiming at a later de-biasing or at least raising awareness about linguistic bias in political news. We found inspiration in conversation analysis (CA), membership categorisation analysis (MCA) and a game-theoretic approach to discourse called epistemic message exchange (ME) games. We identified three types of bias: selective reports about facts, selective formulations when reporting about the same facts, and different histories built up by the differences in the first two. We extend the epistemic ME games model with findings from a qualitative study.Les formulations et les comptes rendus sélectifs des faits dans les informations politiqu...
Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM ha... more Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM has opted to expose the complete List rather than only correct and linked references. ... Wierzbicka A., Speech Act Verbs, Sydney: Academic Press, 1987. ... N. Asher and A Lascarides, ...
Uploads