LINGUIST List 14.331

Mon Feb 3 2003

Books: Phonology/Syntax, Korean: Yim

Editor for this issue: Marisa Ferrara <marisalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM.EUROPA, The Intonational Phonology of Direct and Indirect Imperative Sentence...

		
Title: The Intonational Phonology of Direct and Indirect Imperative
 Sentence Types in Seoul Korean
Series Title: LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 48
			
Publication Year: 2003
Publisher: Lincom Europa
 http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA/
			
Availability: Available

Author: Hyung-Soon Yim				

Hardback: ISBN: 3895867225, Pages: 144, Price: USD 48 / EUR 46 / GBP
	 32
			
Abstract:
			
This book describes and analyses the intonation of two
morpho-syntactically equivalent sentence types in Seoul Korean: the
so-called direct imperative (or command), and the indirect imperative
(or suggestion). The Autosegmental-Metrical theory developed by
Pierrehumbert (1980), Beckman and Pierrehumbert (1986), Pierrehumbert
and Beckman (1988), and Jun (1996; 1998) is used as analytical
framework. Specifically, the book asks if the two sentence types are
intonationally distinguishable, and if they are, how they are
different. As part of this aim, it also examines how intonational
tones are realised over units of different length in the two sentence
types, and investigates the intonational phrase structure - the
so-called accentual phrase structure - of the two sentence types.

The results show that the two sentence types are both similar and
different in their intonational structure. They are similar in two
ways. Both have the same accentual phrase structure, with two
accentual phrases, and both permit of an orthogonal 'strength'
dimension. Thus it is claimed that direct imperatives can differ in
the authority conveyed, and indirect imperatives can differ in the
degree of assertiveness conveyed. It is further claimed that both
these orthogonal 'strength' dimensions are signalled by the same
phonological mechanism: through the first high tone of the accentual
phrase.

The two sentence types differ in three ways. They have different
boundary tones: /HL%/ or /L%/ in direct imperative and /LHL%/ in
indirect imperative, and the relationship between strong authority and
weak authority in the direct imperative is categorical, while the
relationship between strong assertiveness and weak assertiveness in
the indirect imperative is gradient. Also, the indirect imperative has
considerably longer duration on the final syllable than the direct
imperative.
			
Lingfield(s): Phonology
		Syntax
			 
Subject Language(s): Korean (Language Code: KKN)

Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)