Questions in Estonian Information Dialogues: Form and Functions

Questions have been analyzed in Estonian information dialogues with the purpose of finding out the linguistic features that can be used in automatic recognition of various types of questions. Information questions (i.e. the questions that are used for requesting information) and questions that initiate solving communication problems are considered. The study shows which types of questions (wh-question, open and closed yes/no question, question that offers answer, alternative question) are preferred in both cases. The results can be implemented in a dialogue system which performs the role of information provider and interacts with a user in Estonian.