That い doesn't really mean anything. It's just a masculine way of ending a question in Kanto. The meaning of the question stays the same with or without that い.
it's a casual abbreviation for よ, used at the end of questions. I was under the impression that it was a masculine speech pattern, but your sample has an old lady using it. Was that arbitrary or did you pull that from another source?
Good point, nice gaijin. Some old Kanto ladies do use this form, too. It would be difficult to find one in real life, though, because females who use this form are quickly disappearing.
Good point, nice gaijin. Some old Kanto ladies do use this form, too. It would be difficult to find one in real life, though, because females who use this form are quickly disappearing.
My sample is from anime Jigoku Shoujo. Many women (including this old lady) use this form. I've never heard it in real life as well, so I wondered is this from some dialect or just some old form (which are very common in anime).