한국어 ‘모양’ 계열 표현의 통시적 변화 연구 - ‘모양’과 ‘-매’를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study examines the diachronic semantic change and functional diversification of moyang and the suffix -mae from the perspective of grammaticalization. Based on textual data ranging from Middle Korean to Modern Korean, the analysis demonstrates that moyang expanded its functional domain from an independent noun meaning ‘visible shape or outward appearance’ to a modal dependent noun in the construction -n/-l moyang-i-, and further to a comparative postpositional-like unit in patterns such as N + moyang(-euro). In contrast, -mae originated as a noun referring to external form, but gradually underwent semantic narrowing and morphological dependency, developing into a derivational suffix—as seen in forms such as nunmae and ipmae—while in certain dialects expressions like -maero or -maeng-iro function as comparative markers comparable to -cheoreom. Taken together, these developments show that Korean expressions relating to external form and modality did not evolve along a single linear pathway but diverged into multiple grammatical functions, reflecting layered and differentiated trajectories of change.