Acknowledgements

Upon finishing my Ph.D. in 2005, I wanted to take a little break from formal linguistics. Then, I stumbled upon Kumashiro and Langacker’s article on Japanese double subject constructions published in Cognitive Linguistics in 2003. It was abstruse, esoteric, intriguing, and different from my understanding of linguistics at that time. It read like something written in a language that I had never encountered. After finishing it with much effort, I was hooked and sought to seriously pursue Cognitive Grammar. I loved the diagrams and wanted to understand them better. The result of that “wanderlust” pursuit is this monograph. At that time, I never knew I would write a book on Korean case from a Cognitive Grammar perspective. But life is surprising in that we never know what will be presented at the next turn.

I am greatly indebted to two people: James Yoon and Ronald Langacker. James Yoon, who is my mentor, friend, and colleague, showed me the complex world of the Korean case system. The more research I do on Korean case, the more beautiful I find it. Without his teaching and guidance, I would have not been able to start this project, let alone finish it. Without his research, I would have not noticed the beauty of the case system of Korean. Ronald Langacker also deserves my special thanks. I met him at conferences several times and communicated with him through emails, but I was never formally taught by him. Nevertheless, his theory impacted me and my career significantly. Reading his work over the past 15 years has been a joyful, unforgettable, and enlightening experience.

My then teachers and now friends/colleagues need to be acknowledged here. Kiyong Lee planted the seed of interest in linguistics in me and worked to cultivate it during my formative years in Korea. Chin-woo Kim showed me that linguistic theories do change, but data remain forever, emphasizing the importance of objective examination of linguistic data. Peter Lasersohn, Adele Goldberg, Hans Henrich Hock, Georgia Green, and Abbas Benmamoun taught me how to do linguistics in a rigorous way throughout my graduate studies in the United States. Their teachings are reflected in this book here and there directly or indirectly. I also want to thank Jong-Bok Kim, Peter Sells, John Whitman, Jaehoon Yeon, and Naomi McGloin. Though they might not know how much of an impact they made on my research, their work on Korean/Japanese syntax/semantics sparked my curiosity and provided me with the inevitable fuel to continue this project.

At my current institution, many of my colleagues encouraged and uplifted me over the course of this project. They offered me a wide range of support, from coffee breaks and a single semester leave, to listening to my incessant chatter about this project. Among them, Mike Linn, Will Salmon, David Beard, Ron Regal, Sue Maher, Liz Wright, Daniel Turner, and Debbie Rose should be recognized for their exceptional generosity with their time and moral support. Without their friendship and understanding, coming to my office everyday would have been less enjoyable. Several staff at the Writers’ Workshop reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript to check the logical flow and the language. In particular, I would like to thank Lindsey Jungman, who read most chapters word-by-word with me.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the editors of the HCP series, Linda L. Thornburg and Klaus-Uwe Panther. They have been encouraging and patient. Working with them has been delightful and productive. The anonymous reviewers deserve my thanks as well; their comments and suggestions significantly improved the quality of this monograph. I also want to recognize Esther Roth, the acquisition editor of cognitive linguistics at John Benjamins. Her efficient handling of matters made my life undoubtedly easier.

I feel immensely fortunate to have a family who supported me throughout the project. My wife, Bridget, read this book many times at every step of the way. She invested a countless number of hours proofreading as well as making numerous suggestions to make the language smoother. She also caught many errors in Romanized Korean without knowing any Korean at all. I still find this puzzling and mysterious, but it worked out well. My daughter, Angela, helped me draw the CG figures whenever I was stupefied by Adobe Illustrator’s steep learning curve. While I was writing this book, my second daughter, Elle, was born. I would like to thank her for being so cute and lovely. I hope she will be happy to see her name here someday soon.