“ ‘Mica disegnavano la tv’. La polifunzionalità della particella ‘mica’ nell’interazione in classe”

The paper explores some specific functions of the Italian discourse marker mica in sequences of classroom interaction. Drawing on a larger ethnographic research documented through video recordings in two primary schools in northern Italy, this study adopts a CA informed approach to analyze a history class attended by children aged 8 to 10. Within the theoretical framework of Interactional Linguistics, the analysis focuses on mica as a linguistic resource that teachers and children aptly deploy in their everyday classroom activities. In particular, the study highlights participants’ ingenuity in using the particle to (a) co-construct complex sequences of collaborative reasoning, (b) participate effectively in the interaction at hand and (c) initiate practices of peer play within whole-class discussions. While illustrating the polyfunctionality of this particular discourse marker, the study points out the need to analyze sequences of naturally-occurring interaction in order to consider such particles.