They did the same thing in Final Fantasy X. I found it a bit annoying ending every sentence with “ya?” At first I thought it was just a quirk they added to Wakka to make him seem more like a chill islander, but then other characters started to do it too, and I realized it was probably a translation from “ね？”
Can confirm your realization. That hirogana’s romani is “ne” which is pronounced such that it rhymes with “fiancé” (which is close to “nay” but the y technically adds an “ee” sound at the very end which isn’t present in “ne”).
Functionally, it works just like the Canadian “eh” (when used correctly, not added to the end of all sentences like an American parody of a Canadian), to the point where I’ve been wondering if Japanese is the origin for the Canadian bit (or if they share a common origin that was brought over with one or more of the waves of natives crossing to Alaska).
They did the same thing in Final Fantasy X. I found it a bit annoying ending every sentence with “ya?” At first I thought it was just a quirk they added to Wakka to make him seem more like a chill islander, but then other characters started to do it too, and I realized it was probably a translation from “ね？”
Can confirm your realization. That hirogana’s romani is “ne” which is pronounced such that it rhymes with “fiancé” (which is close to “nay” but the y technically adds an “ee” sound at the very end which isn’t present in “ne”).
Functionally, it works just like the Canadian “eh” (when used correctly, not added to the end of all sentences like an American parody of a Canadian), to the point where I’ve been wondering if Japanese is the origin for the Canadian bit (or if they share a common origin that was brought over with one or more of the waves of natives crossing to Alaska).
You two make me miss that game so much. Thank you, very interesting