Some uses of ‘no’ in Spanish talk-in-interactions

Abstract

Using the methodology of Conversation Analysis, the present investigation studies the particle ‘no’ in Mexican Spanish naturally occurring interactions. ‘No’ is analysed in two sequential contexts: assessment sequences (i.e., two assessments, each produced by different speakers, one after the other) and activity transition (i.e., when speakers go from one activity/topic to another). In the first sequential context ‘no’ appears prefacing an upgraded version of the assessment produced adjacently before (i.e., in second position of the sequence). In this context, ‘no’ works to show primacy of epistemic rights, it marks the previous assessment as an understatement, ‘no’ agrees with the previous assessment’s valence but not with its strength. A multiple saying of ‘no’ prefaces an assessment and makes it more emphatic. In the second sequential context, ‘no’ appears to work as a marker of transition between conversational activities, i.e, speakers use ‘no’ to transit from one activity/topic to another.