색채 활용 수수께끼의 형성 연구

Abstract

This study examines traditional Korean riddles that use using colors on language of riddles. Its focus is on identifying the function of using colors in riddle formation and examining the significance of their use. While typical riddles do not involve using colors, attention is paid in this study to the unique riddle forms that are discovered when those using colors are employed. First, the function of using colors in the riddle formation process is examined. Riddles are found to follow a basic structure in which message, code, and context are used as disruptive mechanisms. In riddles where they are used, using colors have a message delivery function. The using colors offers a clue toward the resolution, while at the same time disrupting the identification of an answer due to the unlimited possibilities that they present. Next, the significance of using colors in riddles is examined. Manifesting itself in the fluid characteristics of the oral tradition, the use of using colors is viewed as an attempt at transformation to triumph over the repetition and monotony of that tradition. Because of the oral mode of transmission, riddles tend to become repetitive and predictive, which tends to bring about their extinction. Moreover, the one-off nature of riddles necessitates constant generation. The use of using colors is found to be a method of addressing these drawbacks of oral tradition and effecting new change to perpetuate the riddle genre, and is analyzed in terms of its significance as a fluid device for continued generation and preservation.