Grammaticalized Sentence Ender -Key

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate the path of the development of the Korean sentence ender -key from a conjunctive ender based on the theory of grammaticalization. It provides a synchronic and diachronic analysis of the sentence ender -key. In contemporary colloquial Korean, connective enders, which were originally used as non sentence enders to connect words, clauses, and sentences, are frequently used as sentence enders. The sentence ender -key was once the adverbializer -key and used as a conjunctive ender. The sentence ender -key has two basic functions: intentional and conjectural. In its development as an intentional sentence ender, conjunctive -key began to take the place of the adverbializer -i, expanding its range of use, and becoming a conjunctive ender. It then became a sentence ender through inversion or omission. The meaning and function changed as well. The conjunctive ender -key’s meaning is related to purpose or result; as a sentence ender it retains the purpose/result meaning and it has gained a meaning of intention. Pragmatically, -key functions to indicate worry, criticism, or teasing. In other words, in its grammaticalization, it has gained subjective meaning. The development of the sentence ender -key with the conjectural meaning followed a different path. It comes from the conjunctive ender -kiey. In colloquial Modern Korean, the conjunctive ender - killay took the place of -kiey in interrogative sentences. The conjunctive ender -kiey, losing its place as an interrogative form, was abbreviated to -key. Thus, the uses of -key and -kiey layered, and the form -key gained the conjectural function.