음운론적으로 조건화되지 않은 경음화의 환경과 제약

Abstract

This paper aims to draw out a principled account of the phonologically unconditioned tensification in Korean (type 2 tensification, in short). That is, the tensification in point is the effect of a general principle that requires to differentiate homohonous linguistic forms from each other, especially syntactic constructions from morphological constructions in regard to type 2 tensification. In advance, this paper draws out the generalization that Occurrences of type 2 tensification have syntactic boundaries in common. In order to do so, this paper shows that the so-called stem and endings are actually syntactic words and there are syntactic boundaries between them, and explains that they have been analysed in that way simply because previous analyses are affected by the inadequate application of the notion ‘conjugation’, which is originally invented for inflectional languages, to the alternations of Korean agglutinative elements following verbs and adjectives. A natural question arises from the fact that type 2 tensification does not occur at each and every syntactic boundaries: What blocks type 2 tensification in candidate constructions? As the answer to the question, this paper introduces the anti-homophonous constraint which bans from blind application of type 2 tensification. This paper shows that the constraint reasonably explains why lax obstruents after stem-final open syllable do not undergo type 2 tensification. When applied, present tense forms of verbs come to be identical to their past tense conterparts. Context, argument structure, class d’objet or anything elsementioned in relation to the discussion of homonym can not resolve the ambiguity of homophonous linguistic forms caused by type 2 tensificaton. This situation sets us free from vicious circle and provides us with the independent motivation for the introduction of the anti-homophonous constraint.