Reopening Russian Conversations: The Discourse Particle –to and the Negotiation of Interpersonal Accountability in Closings

The article examines how the goals of maintaining and reaffirming interpersonal relationships are accomplished through the details of talk during closing sections of social encounters. On the basis of Russian language telephone conversations between close familiars, the article explicates ways in which interactions may be reopened and, more specifically, the role of the Russian discourse particle –to on utterances that raise new issues in closing environments. The analysis shows that although many kinds of new matters are commonly raised in conversation closings, only those that deal with the addressee—and only those raised by the person who initiated the closing—are marked so as to indicate the speaker’s accountability for raising the matter late. This suggests that ways in which new topics are introduced in conversation closings reflect the speaker’s orientation to displaying concern for and interest in the addressee.