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Among the many possible forms of human-computer interaction (HCI), an important category is" conversational interaction", that is dialogues between a human and a machine which are similar to conversations between humans. Such conversational interaction occurs when users question or instruct the computer in a" conversational language"[1], while the computer responds with information, some or all of which has a natural language type syntax.

The underlying need in HCI is for straightforward communication:" the ability of the man to communicate his needs to the machine in the most concise way consistent with his conversational fluency, and with the ability of the machine to express itself clearly in response"[2].