Turn-Taking and Diarization

Turn-Taking and Diarization

• Julia Hirschberg
• CS 4706

Today

• Turn-taking behaviors in human-human conversation
• Task/circumstance dependencies
• Conversational Analysis
• Linguistic/cultural differences
• How do we take and give up turns?
• Diarization: Automatic Turn Segmentation

Turn-taking Behavior

• Dialogue characterized by turn-taking
• How do speakers know what to say and when to say it?
• Conversational partners expect certain patterns of behavior in normal conversation
• Pat: You got an A? That’s great!
• Chris: Yeah, I’m really smart you know.
• Chris: Well, I was just lucky I happened to read the chapter on dialogue systems right before the test. Otherwise I never would have squeaked through.
• General patterns in ordinary conversation
• Deviation is significant

Children learn turn taking within first 2 years (Stern ’74)

• Children learn turn taking within first 2 years (Stern ’74)
• General individual differences
• Shy people pause longer and speak less and less often (Pilkonis ’77)
• Schizophrenics, neurotics, depressed people less skilled in turn-taking

Expectations of What to Say May Depend on Task at Hand

• Telephone
• Openings
• Pat: Hello?
• Chris: Hi, Pat. It’s Chris.
• Pat: Hi!
• Closings (6-turn)
• Chris: Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing
• Pat: Thanks for calling. We'll have to have lunch sometime
• Chris: I'd like to
• Pat: Okay
• Chris: Okay
• Pat: See you
• Chris: Yeah, see you

Email

• Email
• Pat: “Hi, can we switch lunch to 12:30? I’m running late.”
• Chris: “Sure. 12:30.”
• Pat: “Great. See you.”
• Service encounters
• Clerk: Good morning. Is there something I can help you with?
• Pat: Hi. Yeah. I wonder if you could show me….
• Meetings
• Boss: Today I want to focus on next year’s goal statements. Chris, could you report please….
• Chris: …
• Boss: Pat, now let’s hear from you…
• Pat: …
• News broadcasts
• Anchor: …Chris Smith reports from Rome now on the upcoming conclave. Chris?
• Reporter: Thanks, Pat….. And now back to Pat Jones in New York.