ABSTRACT
Ordinary dialogue is one of the most effective means of communication and instruction. Yet an examination of most dialogues reveals that they are filled with misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The success of a dialogue, therefore, often depends upon how well its participants are able to identify and correct miscommunications. In order to build powerful computer dialogue systems, we must isolate and formalize the types of errors which occur in conversation and the heuristics which can be used to repair them. This paper presents an informal taxonomy of failures, failure cues, and repair moves which have been identified in a series of video-taped human dialogues.
