Abstract
In spoken Japanese, we often employ sentences ending with the conjunction kedo. As several studies have pointed out, these expressions have a politeness effect. This paper suggests that they have discourse functions in addition to a politeness effect. Examining the discourse development, this paper suggests the following functions; namely, (1) sentences ending with kedo indicate that the speaker wants the proposition introduced by kedo to be the topic in later discourse development, and (2) sentences ending with kedo indicate that the speaker wants the hearer to control the later discourse development.
