대화에서의 역사적 현재 연구 - ‘-는 거야/거예요’ 구문을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study aims to examine the realization patterns and discourse functions of the historical present in conversational discourse. While previous research has explored the historical present in genres such as fiction, news reports, and narrative discourse, studies focusing on spoken interaction—particularly dialogic conversations with high interactivity—remain limited. This study analyzes how the historical present is employed in conversational discourse and investigates its discourse functions. The findings reveal that the historical present frequently appears in the clause following the connective ‘-는데’ in Korean. In such constructions, the preceding clause presents the speaker’s past expectations or assumptions in the past tense, while the following clause presents an unexpected or contrasting situation in the present tense, thereby enhancing vividness and immediacy. Additionally, the historical present is observed in quoting verbs within direct quotations (e.g., ‘그러다’, ‘이러다’), which serves to portray events as ongoing rather than completed, enhancing the sense of presence for the listener. Furthermore, the historical present is also realized with stative verbs and first-person narrators, challenging prior assumptions. This suggests that the function of the historical present extends beyond conveying vividness of past events to include the expression of emotional immediacy. By extending the scope of historical present usage from literary and news discourse to spoken interaction, this study offers new insights into its functional and contextual constraints in discourse.