This paper examines the learners? usage of the Japanese final particles (FPs), 'ne' and 'yo' which appear frequently in informal conversation. FPs play a significant role in establishing interpersonal relationships between speakers and addressees in a situation (Maynard, 1989, 1992; Cook 1988, 1992, 1999), as they carry important social meanings in a context. Therefore, for the learners of Japanese as second language (JSLs), it is crucial to acquire the usage of final particles in order to interact successfully in a cultural context.
The analysis for JSL's discourse was based upon a database which consists of 10 sets of informal interviews with advanced English speakers learning Japanese in the United States. The total length of the 10 interviews was 224 minutes with an average of 25 minutes per person interviewed. This study examines all occurrences of FPs, 'ne' and 'yo' used by JSLs, as well all occurrences of the plain forms, which according to Cook (2002) foregrounds ?affect key? when they co-occur with FPs and/or vowel lengthening among others.
The preliminary findings are following: (1) the majority of FPs used by JSLs at the advanced level was 'ne' (88.3%) including 64 cases of 'soodesu ne' out of 93 cases of 'ne'. (2) 'yo' (4.9%) was not frequently used. These findings are compatible with Ohta (1990) and Sawyer (1992) claiming that the usage of FPs is limited at the beginning stage of learning Japanese. (3) There was no usage of combining two FPs such as 'yo ne'. (4) JSLs seem to be able to use FPs with the masu form, but not with the plain forms. This makes a sharp contrast with the usage of FPs by native speaker of Japanese (cf. Cook 1992, Maynard 1993). This paper concludes with a discussion of pedagogical implications of the data and textbook analysis of FPs.