Abstract
Language is at the core of most social activity. Psycholinguistic research has shown that our conversational partners influence our linguistic choices be it syntactic or lexical, a concept termed alignment . As our interaction with computer interlocutors become more frequent recent efforts have been made to understand how and what impacts alignment with computers, showing that our perceptions of computer systems impact on alignment with computer interlocutors. This work looks to identify the impact of how spoken dialogue system design characteristics, specifically system voice type, impact user linguistic behaviour in terms of syntactic alignment in human-computer dialogue. Additionally we wished to identify whether syntactic alignment levels can be used as a behavioural indicator of interaction satisfaction. The research used a wizard of oz experiment design paired with a confederate-scripting paradigm commonly used in psycholinguistics research. We found that there was no significant effect of voice type on syntactic alignment, although there was a significant effect of voice type on interaction satisfaction. Participants rated their experiences with a basic computer voice significantly lower in satisfaction compared to human based and advanced voice computer conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the conceptual nature of syntactic alignment and the impact of item stimuli on alignment levels. Future plans for research are also discussed.
Highlights
The results of the research suggest that there was no significant effect of voice type on syntactic alignment in human-computer dialogue
There was a significant difference between our conditions in terms of interaction satisfaction, this difference was not reflected in the amount of alignment seen across the conditions
Our findings do suggest that users rated interactions with a more human like computer voice and a human as more satisfying than those with a basic voice
Summary
Over a decade of research has highlighted that our conversational partners’ speech has an effect on our language choices in that we converge on the syntax we use (syntactic alignment) (Branigan et al 2000; Pickering & Branigan 1998) or the word choices we make to describe concepts and objects (lexical alignment) (Brennan 1996; Brennan & Clark 1996). This convergence or co-ordination in dialogue is termed alignment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
