|
One of the most common mistakes that Japanese students make is the idea that yo is equivalent to the exclamation point.
This is incorrect!!Sometimes yo is used in circumstances where we would perhaps use the exclamation point in English. Sometimes. Yes, sometimes, yo is used for purely emphatic purposes. But not usually. Click here for a note on the emphatic use of yo. The real, live, day-in-day-out use of yo is to designate new information. You tack it onto the end of your sentence when you believe that you are giving your listener new information. Yo says to the listener, "I don't think you're aware of this fact." This use far exceeds the emphatic use of yo. Therefore, Waa, soto wa atsui yo (Man, it's hot outside.) would not be spoken to someone who was outdoors with you. You're hardly giving them new information because they're outside experiencing the heat with you. It would more likely be spoken to someone who has been indoors all day and therefore wouldn't know how hot it was. Likewise, Sono eiga wa sugoku omoshirokatta yo (That movie was really interesting.) could only be said to someone who hasn't seen the film yet. You're saying, "Boy, you don't know this yet, and that's why I'm telling you: That movie is really interesting." Two friends walking out of the theater after watching a film together might say, "Sono eiga wa omoshirokatta ne." Definitely not yo. Before you use yo, think to yourself, "After my listener hears this sentence, will he or she say, 'Oh, really? I didn't know that.'" If the answer is no, you should leave off the yo. Because of this whole "new information" idea associated with yo, it's very often used when answering questions. Obviously the person asking the question doesn't know the answer. So your response will be a new idea to him or her. Here is an example dialogue.
Amerika-jin wa mina, juu wo motte iru no?
Do all Americans have guns? So you see, yo is often misused by students of Japanese. But now you know better. So get out there, and tell all those guys what's what about it. And, since it will be new info to them, tack on a yo just for fun! |