Responding to new information with negative discourse particles nein/nee/nö in German talk-in-interaction

This conversation analytic and interactional linguistic study examines how the negative discourse particles nein/nee/nö (‘no’) are used in response to new information in mundane and institutional talk-in-interaction in spoken German. We analyze two functions of these responsive negative discourse particles: First, we examine how these particles serve to receipt information as new and display a stance toward it, e.g., an affiliative negative stance or surprise. Second, we explore how they can function to request reconfirmation, treat the prior informing as new, and/or invite further elaboration – or even reconsideration – of what another person previously said. Our study describes responses to news that have not been featured in prior research and shows how different design features of nein/nee/nö -turns disambiguate their function, shape interactional trajectories, and manage epistemic and affective positioning. We also uncover how nein/nee/nö -turns can be used in response to a visually perceived event or state of affairs and discuss the implications of such uses for our conceptualization of “information” and “news”. • Negative discourse particles such as nein , nee , and nö (‘no’) serve not only to receipt information but also to display a negative stance. • Nein , nee , and nö can also be used to request reconfirmation , treat prior informing as new , and/or invite reconsideration of what the other speaker has previously said. • Features such as sequential position , co-occurring lexical elements , prosodic patterns, and embodied realizations help disambiguate the specific function these nein/nee/nö -turns fulfill. • Nein/nee/nö are used not only in response to newly provided verbal information but also in reaction to unprojected nonverbal visually perceived events or actions .