동사 ‘때리다’의 의미 확장 양상

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the patterns of semantic extension in the Korean verb ttaerida (‘to hit’). Originally, ttaerida denotes an action involving physical impact, characterized by the features [+animate/agent], [+animate/patient], [±instrument], [+contact], [+strong force], [+intentionality], and [+punctuality]. However, as seen in recent usages such as meong-eul ttaerida (‘to zone out’) and gukbap-eul ttaerida (‘to devour gukbap’), the verb’s meaning has extended to contexts involving duration and non-physical actions. To investigate this semantic extension, this study first reviews previous research to identify the core semantic features of ttaerida, and examines changes in meaning based on its sense divisions in the Standard Korean Dictionary. Subsequently, recent corpus data is analyzed to explore the range of objects that combine with ttaerida, thereby shedding light on its evolving usage. The findings reveal that ttaerida now also combines with predicate nouns, exhibiting light verb constructions. This development appears to stem from the extension of the features that an [+animate] agent can actively convey, which are [+strong force] and [+intentionality]. As a result, the verb demonstrates increasing flexibility in terms of the types of patients it can take.