There is a great deal of knowledge required to send or receive a message of "no." The acquisition of communicative competence, i.e., the ability to interpret the full meaning of a message and the ability to properly formulate such messages, requires three levels of knowledge. These three levels are all needed in the interpretation of the message of negation. First of all, a person from another culture must find the appropriate form function relationship. Next, one needs to learn which social parameters enter into the speech act. Finally, it is essential to get a group on the underlying values of the society. Examples of ways of saying no across several cultures are given. The examples illustrate that confusion can easily arise when both participants in the speech act do not possess communicative competence at all three levels. (EKN)