While there is a growing body of research on impoliteness and conflict talk, the role of accusations in interpersonal conflict has
been only addressed in passing. In this paper, we focus on accusations in conflict talk amongst interactants who are in a
situation demanding the formation of intimate relationships within a relatively short span of time, namely, the television reality
show Big Brother. We examine, in particular, accusation sequences arising in multi-party interactions from the
Argentinian and Spanish versions of the show. We analyse the ways in which assertions of fault or wrongdoing are construed as
accusations through such responses as denials, counter-accusations and challenges, and the ways in which participants explicitly
evaluate each other’s behaviour through such sequences. We conclude that accusations are designed primarily to enact moral
denunciation or condemnation of another party, and so almost invariably occasion interpersonal disputes.
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