Semantic Features as a Cause of Tensification in Korean

Authors

  • Hangyoo Khym

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/KWPL.1808.344

Keywords:

Korean language-- Phonology

Abstract

Nominal compounds of `NI + N2" in Korean can be classified into the following three major categories: co-compound, subcompound, and fusion. Among these three major categories, insertion of /t/' in the compounding process and subsequent tensification are found only in subcompounds. This peculiar phenomenon of /t/ insertion which causes, in turn. tensification in subcompound words has been long controversial because linguists have not been able to expect in which phonological environment of subcompounding insertion of /t/ takes place. In this paper, I explore a phonological rule which makes it possible to expect the phonological environments of subcompounding that allow insertion of /t/ and automatic tensification of the subsequent consonant. In this process, I show that semantic relation(s) between combined roots should be considered at least as one of the important structural descriptions in phonology.

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How to Cite

Khym, . H. (1998). Semantic Features as a Cause of Tensification in Korean. Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics, 23, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.17161/KWPL.1808.344