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Info-Request

The Info-request aspect is simply a binary dimension where questions and other requests for information are marked. Utterances that introduce an obligation to provide an answer should be marked as Info-request. Note, answers can be nonverbal actions providing information such as displaying a graph. Info-request includes all questions, including yes/no questions such as ``Is there an engine at Bath?'', ``The train arrives at 3 pm right?'', and even ``The train is late'' said with the right intonation. The category also includes wh-questions such as ``When does the next flight to Paris leave?'' as well as actions that are not questions but request information all the same such as ``Tell me the time''. Requests for other actions that can be used to communicate, such as ``Show me where that city is on the map'' are also considered Info-Requests. Basically, any utterance that creates an obligation for the hearer to provide information, using any form of communication, is marked as an Info-Request.



Mark Core
Mon Sep 22 20:05:25 EDT 1997