help with "ja" in the middle of sentences

[edmont]

Dieser [statute] ist ja von 1911 und außerdem durch den Krieg längst ausgelöscht. Die Gesellschaft kann sich ruhig mit Politik befassen. Ich rede ja auch immer von Politik.

Can the two "ja"s in the text above be understood as each having a bit of an implied question mark?  Not because the speaker is really asking if what he says is true, but more because he is asking if the listener is following the speaker and understands what is said?  I could also imagine that the first "ja" is something else, namely a sign of remembering or recognizing something: "Oh yeah, this is..."


Am I on the right track with these interpretations of "ja" as checking in with the listener and "ja" as recognition/remembering ?


Thank you for any assistance.

[Adrox98]

In this case "ja" is a modal particle. A "ja" as modal particle indicates that the addressee perhaps knows an information or someone want to strengthen suprise.
Without "ja" the text has the same meaning

Modal particles are often used in German however this is unusual for most languages

[Adrox98]

In this case "ja" is a modal particle. A "ja" as modal particle indicates that the addressee perhaps knows an information or someone wants to strengthen suprise.
Without "ja" the text has the same meaning

Modal particles are often used in German however this is unusual for most languages

Self correction

[tiorthan]

Modal particles are often used in German however this is unusual for most languages

Not really. English doesn't have modal particles but overall they aren't rare. German is remarkable only in that it uses them relatively often. That, too, isn't really a rare property. Dutch, Russian, Chines and a lot of other rather widely used languages use them with similar frequency and languages like Japanese even build a significant part of their grammar out of particles.

[Adrox98]

This is good to know because Wikipedia says that modal particles aren't often used in most languages

[edmont]

The following is not a question, just a comment and needs no answer.

Adrox98 and tiorthan, thank you both very much.  It's so great to be able to get this help. 


I did not know the term "modal particle." Modal particles are one of the main things in German that have been rather opaque to me. I went to Wikipedia for an English-language article on modal particles and there is even a passage on "ja" that confirms more or less my intuition:

Ja (engl. "you know"/"everyone knows"/"I already told you") indicates that the speaker thinks a certain fact should already be known to the listener and intends his statement to be more of a reminder or conclusion.

Ich habe ihm ein Buch geschenkt, er liest ja sehr gerne. ("I gave him a book; as you know he likes to read.")Ich verleihe kein Geld, das zerstört ja nur Freundschaften. ("I never lend money. Everyone knows that only destroys friendships.")

The article also explains words like "doch", etc., better perhaps than the dictionaries I've looked at.