Tacit but understood? A first immersion in ellipsis in Argentine colloquial interaction

Abstract

Existing research on ellipsis in Spanish has primarily relied on prototypical examples analogous to Anglophone literature, applying an a priori theoretical framework that involves the principle of economy, coordination, and polarity, along with a list of concepts such as gapping, sluicing, short answer. In response, this study presents initial observations on elliptical constructions in spontaneous spoken interaction based on its own sociolinguistically balanced oral corpus of Argentine Spanish. The core of the study is the description of data in a sequential context using the conversation analytic case-by-case method, aiming to highlight the ellipsis typology inherent in spoken communication, and the interplay of the principles that govern it (the principle of economy versus preserving the right to speak). The validity of the distinction between systemic and textual ellipsis is also explored from a data-based approach. Key findings are confronted with available theory to reveal contradictions and correspondences.