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<Paper uid="W96-0511">
  <Title>Implementing an Integration of the Systemic Flowchart Model of Dialogue and Rhetorical Structure Theory</Title>
  <Section position="5" start_page="43" end_page="43" type="concl">
    <SectionTitle>
5. Conclusions
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> The generation of the discourse structure of monologues and dialogues are usually treated as separate research paradigms, but in this paper we have shown how the gap between the two can be bridged. As we have seen, RST relations can be fully integrated with the richer SFM framework by restating the 'sister-dependency' relations of RST as occurring via their mother unit, i.e. in an 'element and unit' model. In this way we have arrived at a unified framework for generating both dialogues and monologues.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> How was this integration accomplished so relatively easily? The answer seems to be that GENEDIS, which is itself adapted from the sentence generator GENESYS, provides an appropriately rich and relevant array of o.perators. It can therefore be extended, m a principled manner, to incorporate the simpler set of relations of RST. This suggests in turn the value of the particular set of concepts incorporated into the Cardiff Grammar, and of the grammar-writing tool DEFREL, in which both GENESYS and GENEDIS are written.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> Essentially, we have here incorporated RST within the SFM rather than the other way about. There is a good reason for this. It is that dialogues regularly contain monologues, but,monologues (w, hile they can be interrupted by mini-dialogues to clear up misunderstandings and to challenge, etc.) occur - either explicitly or implicitly - within a dialogue.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3"> The fundamental principle underlying all discourse generation is that there is always an Addressee - so that there is always at least an implicit potential for dialogue.</Paragraph>
  </Section>
class="xml-element"></Paper>