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dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1951/59717
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11401/71287
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.en_US
dc.formatMonograph
dc.format.mediumElectronic Resourceen_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherThe Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
dc.typeDissertation
dcterms.abstractThis dissertation deals with a pattern of variation which results from a historical change in progress in Korean. In an earlier stage of the language, there was a consistent process of vowel harmony which resulted in alternations between [a] and [ʌ] in verbal suffixes. In present day Korean, however, the use of suffix forms containing [ʌ] is often generalized to contexts that originally took [a]. I present results from a Google-driven corpus study, a judgment survey, a production experiment, and a spontaneous speech study showing that the likelihood of a disharmonic form is affected by three factors: the morphophonological class of the stem, the identity and position of the suffix, and the quality of the stem vowel. First, p-irregular stems generally take [ʌ]-suffix forms irrespective of the stem vowels. Second, a sentence-ending suffix -a/ʌ, frequently used in casual speech, is realized as [ʌ] even with stems containing /a/, while other harmonizing suffixes usually surface as [a]-forms in harmony with the stem vowel /a/. Third, of the two kinds of [RTR] stems (/a/-stems and /o/-stems), which originally triggered [a]-forms, /a/-stems are much more likely to allow the variation (Hong 2008). The dissertation addresses the question of why these factors should be associated with the innovative forms. First, I argue that the extension of the [ʌ]-forms to a class of irregular stems reflects changes in the subgrammar of p-irregular stems. Second, I argue that the extension of the disharmonic form to a suffix in sentence-final position is due to the fact that this position imposes more stringent faithfulness requirements. Finally, I argue that the harmony is more likely to be maintained where it facilitates lexical retrieval of the stem. The fact that harmonic suffix forms are more likely to be used with stems containing the vowel [o] than the vowel [a] reflects Korean speakers' ability to correctly identify the two vowels. I present evidence that the perception of [a] is robust, while the perception of [o] is less accurate, arguing that /o/-stems may need harmonized suffixes to enhance their perceptibility (Kaun 1995).
dcterms.available2013-05-22T17:34:53Z
dcterms.available2015-04-24T14:46:53Z
dcterms.contributorBroselow, Ellen Ien_US
dcterms.contributorHuffman, Marie Ken_US
dcterms.contributorBethin, Christina Yen_US
dcterms.contributorKang, Yoonjung.en_US
dcterms.creatorKang, Hijo
dcterms.dateAccepted2013-05-22T17:34:53Z
dcterms.dateAccepted2015-04-24T14:46:53Z
dcterms.dateSubmitted2013-05-22T17:34:53Z
dcterms.dateSubmitted2015-04-24T14:46:53Z
dcterms.descriptionDepartment of Linguisticsen_US
dcterms.extent112 pg.en_US
dcterms.formatMonograph
dcterms.formatApplication/PDFen_US
dcterms.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/1951/59717
dcterms.identifierKang_grad.sunysb_0771E_11105en_US
dcterms.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11401/71287
dcterms.issued2012-08-01
dcterms.languageen_US
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dcterms.publisherThe Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
dcterms.subjectLinguistics
dcterms.subjectKorean, language change, pattern, variation, vowel harmony
dcterms.titleDiachrony in Synchrony: Korean vowel harmony in verbal conjugation
dcterms.typeDissertation


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