Korean suffixal passive verbs: Usage based research

Abstract

This dissertation provides a usage-based analysis of Korean suffixal passive verbs and examines how these verbs are actually used by native Korean speakers across Written, Spoken, and Messenger corpora. Korean suffixal passive verbs are traditionally introduced as a single grammatical category formed with the passive suffixes -이 -i, -히 -hi, -리 -li, and -기 -ki. However, this study argues that these verbs do not constitute a homogeneous grammatical class and cannot be adequately explained only through active-passive alternation or a single passive meaning.The study uses the Word Sense Tagged Corpus (WSTC), developed by the National Institute of Korean Language, to investigate the distribution, meanings, argument structures, and usage patterns of Korean suffixal passive verbs. From a pedagogical vocabulary list, 87 suffixal passive verbs were first identified, and the 16 most frequent verbs across the three subcorpora were selected for detailed analysis. The study then examines how the arguments and other relevant elements are realized with each verb, and how these patterns differ across verbs and contexts. The findings show that Korean suffixal passive verbs vary significantly in their degree of passive meaning, argument realization, agentivity, grammaticalization, idiomaticity, and constructional behavior. Some verbs maintain relatively clear passive meanings, while others are more frequently used with grammaticalized or specialized meanings, idiomatic expressions, situational causes, adjuncts, or NP and clausal complements. Sensory verbs further show that suffixal passive verbs may develop cognitive meanings and complement-taking patterns that distinguish them from more canonical passive verbs. Based on these findings, this dissertation argues that Korean suffixal passive verbs should not be taught as a single uniform grammar item. Instead, they should be introduced according to their actual frequency, lexical meanings, argument realization patterns, and constructional properties. This usage-based approach provides a more empirically grounded account of Korean passive-related phenomena and offers practical implications for teaching Korean as a second language.