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Meanings of non-referential indexes: A case study of the Japanese sentence-final particle ne

Numerous studies on sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics suggest that the relation between linguistic features and social categories is highly complex. This paper investigates how non-referential Indexes signal social meaning, using the Japanese sentence-final particle ne äs an example. It proposes that the particle ne directly Indexes affective common ground and indirectly Indexes various conversational functions that require the addressee's cooperation (e.g. requesting confirmation). This analysis o/ne uses a model of direct and indirect indexicality, incorporates previous analyses of ne, unifies various meanings of the particle, and explains why ne is used very frequently in Japanese conversation.