한국어 주어 부재(Null-subject) 담화에 나타나는 2인칭 주어‘너’의 실현에 대한 인지언어학적 고찰

Abstract

This study investigates the discourse-pragmatic and cognitive linguistic functions of the overt realization of the second-person subject ‘neo(you)’ in spoken Korean, where subject omission is generally preferred. Focusing on contrastive examples, the study examines how the presence or absence of neo changes the emotional tone, pragmatic force, and social meaning of an utterance. The analysis reveals that the overt use of neo foregrounds the addressee as the attentional focus of the speaker, performing multiple cognitive functions such as emotional intensification, assignment of responsibility, and modulation of social distance. These functions are explained through core concepts of cognitive grammar, including foregrounding, reference-point construction, and construal. The study argues that the overt realization of neo is not merely a grammatical phenomenon but a strategic reflection of the speaker’s conceptualization. By combining corpus-based analysis with cognitive-linguistic interpretation, this research offers a theoretically grounded and empirically supported account of subject realization in Korean discourse.