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Article published In: Periphery – Diachronic and Cross-Linguistic Approaches:
Edited by Yuko Higashiizumi, Noriko O. Onodera and Sung-Ock S. Sohn
[Journal of Historical Pragmatics 17:2] 2016
► pp. 231–254

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Development of the discourse marker kulentey (‘but, by the way’) in Korean

A diachronic and synchronic perspective

 | University of California, Los Angeles
Published online: 6 April 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jhp.17.2.04soh
This study examines the diachronic and synchronic development of the discourse marker kulentey (‘but, by the way’). Etymologically, having derived from the sequence of the deictic predicate and the clause-final suffix –nuntey (‘but, in the circumstance that’), kulentey is frequently used as a turn-initiator in spoken discourse. While each source form of kulentey is attested in the earliest text written in Korean (fifteenth century), the form itself is found only in early-twentieth-century texts. The development of kulentey at peripheries shows unique features in terms of discourse functions and prosody. There exists a functional asymmetry between the left and the right peripheral kulentey. Prosodically, LP kulentey forms a salient disjuncture, while the RP kulentey is integrated into the preceding element. Using both written and spoken corpora, this study investigates the emergence and development of kulentey at peripheries, and its interaction with prosody.
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Rhee, Seongha
2023. On the development of discourse markers from elliptical structures. In Different Slants on Grammaticalization [Studies in Language Companion Series, 232], ► pp. 198 ff. DOI logo
Rhee, Seongha & Hyun Jung Koo
2021. On divergent paths and functions of ‘background’-based discourse markers in Korean. In Studies at the Grammar-Discourse Interface [Studies in Language Companion Series, 219], ► pp. 77 ff. DOI logo

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