의문형 종결어미 ‘-지’의 의미·화용적 기능의 분화

Abstract

While general interrogative sentences express speakers’ uncertainty about propositions, the interrogative sentences with final ending ‘-ji’ rather express speakers’certainty about propositions. First, final ending ‘-ji’ is used in Panmal style. Panmal style is used when one of the speaker’s position is higher than the other or when their position is the same. Second, final ending ‘-ji’ is only used in colloquial situations. Third, final ending ‘-ji’ marks the speaker’s certainty about the proposition based on the meaning [already known]. Fourth, speakers ask for listeners’ agreement or help about the proposition or express their remembrance effort. In ‘yes-no question’ speakers asks for an agreement from listeners with final ending ‘-ji’. Especially, the usage of final ending ‘-ji’ in yes-no question’ works as confirmation of the obvious proposition. Since the speaker regards the proposition as a fact without any doubts, the listener is required to agree on the speaker’s suggestion. The important matter is that the listener’s position is lower than the speaker’s or the same. This position of the speaker and the listener makes the listener hard to reply with the disagreement. The final ending ‘-ji’ in interrogative sentence works as extremely closed questions and the listeners is asked to agreed on the already decided proposition proposed by the speaker. Even if the listener does not agree on what is suggested or asked by the speaker, the listener is given a burden to deny the fact that the speaker suggested with no doubts. This can be understood as the speakers’ strategy to achieve their goals in the discourse by increasing the burden to listeners.