AN INDEXICAL ACCOUNT OF THE JAPANESE SENTENCE-FINAL PARTICLE NO

Linguistic features which signal social contexts have been referred to as indexicals (Jakobson, 1960; Lyons, 1977; Morris, 1946; Ochs, 1989; Peirce, 1931-58; Silverstein, 1976). Typically, indexicals index diverse contexts. However, we still do not know much about the complex relations between a particular linguistic feature and the diverse contexts indexed by that feature. This article discusses one such indexical in Japanese: the sentence-final particle no. Because of the diversity of social contexts that no indexes, no has puzzled a number of linguists. The present paper proposes that the sentence-final particle no indexes group authority for knowledge. This indexical meaning helps constitute diverse social contexts. This treatment of no incorporates and integrates points made about no by other researchers. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.