Argument Mining

9Non-Verbal Dimensions of Argumentation: a Challenge for Argument Mining

So far, we have concentrated on argument mining from written texts, considering the linguistic and operational dimensions of this recent research area. This is the main aim of this book. However, argumentation is an everyday life process that occurs in many situations where the textual dimension is just one dimension, probably the most important one since it conveys most of the semantic content. The non-verbal dimensions frequently play a crucial role, which may support, contradict or introduce a new perspective on the argumentation being developed. Media analysis shows that for some areas such as debates, the non-verbal aspects of argumentation may be as important as the verbal ones.

In this chapter, we show a number of non-verbal dimensions that contribute to the construction and the evaluation of an argumentation. These should be taken into account in argument mining even if they cannot in general be mined in a way similar to textual data. The sound and visual dimensions of our everyday life are considered under different angles and their contribution to argumentation is underlined and illustrated. The interactions of these non-verbal dimensions to argumentation may be quite complex and the evaluation of their impact may be quite subjective. Nevertheless, such an analysis remains crucial for a correct evaluation of an argumentation in its global context.

This chapter is an introduction to non-verbal ...