This work aimed to study direct speech from a qualitative perspective in order to describe and understand why speakers use direct quotations in their discursive contribution. To achieve this, sociolinguistic interviews from the oral spoken Spanish corpus of Granada (Spain) were analyzed. Each direct quotation was defined according to analytical categories that have emerged from the text, such as introductory framework, conversation topic, quotation attribution, type of narrator or type of narratee, or the fictive entity to which the narrator directs their narration. The results showed that the description of each direct quotation is related to the broad discursive strategies mentioned above, and to the construction of a multidialogical space that transforms what is told into a network of voices and times. In general, the presence of direct quotations is perceived when discussing topics related to the informant's private sphere, such as work, childhood, and courtship, with a marked prevalence of the narrator.
Arguinzones et al. (Wed,) studied this question.