The language/action perspective "takes language as the primary dimension of human cooperative activity,"[1] applied not just in person-to-person direct (face-to-face) interactions, but also in the design of systems mediated by information and communication technology.
The perspective was developed in the joint authorship of Understanding Computers and Cognition by Fernando Flores and Terry Winograd in 1987.
As part of a reflection published in 2006, Terry Winograd describes the language-action perspective as resting on two key orienting principles: Language is action argues that speech isn't simply composed of assertions about the situation: utterances may also create a situation, such as, "Let's go to the park."
Some Apple ATG researchers, notably Tom Pittard and Brad Hartfield, saw potential for enhancing the user experience of network based computer interactions if LAP was included in the mix of basic design considerations.
The LAP argued that language was not simply a correspondence with facts but instead depended upon the contextual domain and could not be rigidly defined.