What part of “No, Totally” don't you understand?
No, English is messed up :P<p>I learned about some of this from learning Japanese where I had to learn you answer the question directly rather than confirm the negative by repeating it.<p>In Japanese:<p>Q: You don't like cigars do you<p>A: Yes    (Yes I don't like cigars)<p>In English<p>Q: You don't like cigars do you<p>A: No  (it's effectively confirming the negative of "like")<p>My Japanese friends learning English of course found English very confusing. I'd point out if you answer the question with more than just "Yes" or "No" it's almost always clear.<p>A: Yes, I don't like cigars<p>A: No, I don't like cigars<p>Both have the same meaning, whereas just Yes or just No is ambiguous.<p>Of course the article had examples of just yes or just no. To someone of the same language background they are probably unambigious