Negotiating agreement and disagreement in Spanish-English bilingual conversations with no

Publisher： University of Buckingham Press

ISSN： 1367-0069

Source： International Journal of Bilingualism, Vol.4, Iss.4, 2000-12, pp. : 485-504

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

The present paper examines the role of the Spanish discourse particle no for negotiating agreement and disagreement in Spanish-English bilingual conversations from Gibraltar. A sequential analysis of twelve conversational exchanges shows how language choice is an important linguistic resource for negotiating agreement and disagreement in interactions. As a discourse marker no can function as (a) a yes-no request where a speaker seeks information from the hearer or (b) as a device a speaker uses to check information or obtain acquiescence. At a metalingual level of analysis, the use of Spanish as well as the no particle constitute a move for communicating in the metalingual realm of bilingual interactions about the speaker and the hearer. These moves index the actions, meanings, and situations associated with the use of Spanish in Gibraltar. The connection between the discourse functions of no, language choice (i.e., convergence), and the meanings communicated at a metalingual level of the conversation shed light on the complex strategies available to speakers for expressing agreement and disagreement in bilingual talk.

Related content

Command of gender agreement in school-age Spanish-English Bilingual Children

By Montrul Silvina Potowski Kim

International Journal of Bilingualism, Vol. 11, Iss. 3, 2007-09 ,pp. : 301-328 (28)

University of Buckingham Press

Access to resources Recommend Favorite

The interactional and syntactic importance of prosody in Spanish-English bilingual discourse

By Scott Shenk Petra

International Journal of Bilingualism, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, 2006-06 ,pp. : 179-205 (27)

University of Buckingham Press

Access to resources Recommend Favorite

The development of narrative competence in the L1 and L2 of Spanish-English bilingual children

By Montanari Simona

International Journal of Bilingualism, Vol. 8, Iss. 4, 2004-12 ,pp. : 449-497 (49)

University of Buckingham Press

Access to resources Recommend Favorite

Learning in two languages: Spanish-English immersion in U.S. public schools

By Linton April

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 24, Iss. 7-8, 2004-07 ,pp. : 46-74 (29)

Emerald Group Publishing Ltd

Access to resources Recommend Favorite

Thresholds leading to shift: Spanish/English codeswitching and convergence in Georgia, U.S.A.

By Smith Daniel J.

International Journal of Bilingualism, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, 2006-06 ,pp. : 207-240 (34)

University of Buckingham Press

Access to resources Recommend Favorite