SPEECH CONTROLLED COMPUTER USER INTERFACE

A speech controlled computer user interface communicates between a user and at least one application program. The user interface has a speech layer, an utterance layer, and a discourse layer. The speech layer is in communication with the user and converts between speech messages and text messages. The utterance layer is in communication with the speech layer, and converts between text messages and semantic meaning messages. The discourse layer is in communication with the utterance layer and the at least one application program, and processes messages from the user and the at least one application program, and generates responsive messages to the user and the at least one application program.