I was wondering about the translation of this sentence: (一人くらいは来てくれるんじゃないかな...) What I see is a double negative and a question. Does someone know if the double negative and question are used to save face, in a sense, from the speaker, or am I missing something really obvious...
来てくれるん - first negative. じゃない - second negative.
Answer
In general I think it's correct to say double negative and question are used to save face but I'm not sure if this sentence is double negative.
The expression 来てくれるん is not a negative sentence and also the expression ～じゃない？ does use the negative form but is not really a negative sentence either and is more like a question.
For example, something similar in English may be
Isn't it cold?
Japanese translation would be
寒｛さむ｝くない？
The expression ～んじゃない？ is used to say something with some assumptions and also kind of asking for agreement from the listener just like the example above.
Some examples are:
今日は雨がふるんじゃない？
(You see dark clouds) Don't you think it's going to rain?
A: あ！財布｛さいふ｝がない！
B: レストランに 忘れたんじゃない？
(You saw your friend use her/his wallet at the restaurant) Maybe you left it at the restaurant?
～かな... is used to make it not sound like pushy when stating your opinion. I think it's because it sounds like you are stating your opinion as if you are asking it to yourself or talking to yourself. It's like hmm I think.
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