음운론과 형태론의 접면에 대한 일고찰

Abstract

Phonology and morphology are separate branches of linguistics that are strictly distinct. However, when observing the linguistic phenomenon that actually appears in modern Korean, it can be seen that it is difficult to explain completely the phenomenon by choosing only one subfield. In particular, the alternation of morpheme has been drawn a lot of attention as one of the phenomena corresponding to the interface of phonology and morphology. The alternation of morpheme is a phenomenon in which the phonemes at the boundary change into other phonemes when morphemes and morphemes are combined, and the issue of whether it belongs to the domain of phonology or morphology has been discussed. In this process, the establishment of ‘morphophonology’, a new field that deals only with the alternation of morpheme, was also discussed. However, considering the problem of the unit called morphophoneme, it can be seen that the establishment of morphophonology is unnecessary. Accordingly, this study discussed the properties of the interface of phonology and morphology and the phonological phenomenon in irregular conjugation, one of the examples of such interfaces. It is certainly true that there are interfaces between phonology and morphology, which overlap each other, and through the linguistic phenomenon corresponding to these interfaces, we can understand phonology and morphology at a higher level. The phonological phenomenon in irregular conjugation is a representative linguistic phenomenon that can understand the interface between phonology and morphology. Unlike the regular conjugation, the phonological phenomenon that occurs in irregular conjugation is difficult to explain the combination of the stem and the ending with synchronic phonological rules or constraints. It is also impossible to generalize the phonological environment of predicates that shows the same pattern. Therefore, by examining the phonological phenomenon in irregular conjugation, it is possible to deepen the understanding of the interface of phonology and morphology.