Spanish no, si:: Reactive moves to perceived face-threatening acts, Part I:: Discourse relations and cognitive states

This paper is the first installment of a two-part pragmatic analysis of a previously uninvestigated discourse particle in Spanish, no, si. In this paper we examine the distribution of the particle in conversational interaction, discussing discourse structure and the discourse relations involved in the use of the particle. Our data show that no, si is used in response to particular kinds of antecedent questions/utterances and also in an internal usage. The no, si responses are also examined in terms of the cognitive states of the interactants according to the functions of correction, acceptance, or rejection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.