한국어 초성-중성 결합의 분포적 특성 및 모음의 군집분석 연구

Abstract

Native speakers’ sensitivity to type and token frequency has been well recognized in many linguistic studies and is now known as frequency effects. In this study, we provide frequency information on the sequences of onset and nucleus by analyzing the complete lexical entries (510,032) listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary (2008). The frequency information has been extracted from a total of 1,761,214 syllables as they are represented in the dictionary. In addition to the frequency information, we provide a hierarchical cluster analysis of vowels referring to the frequency of individual onsets combined with individual vowels. Three main findings are reported in this paper. Firstly, diphthongs and monophthongs are clustered separately by hierarchical clustering with a characteristic that diphthongs are combined with a more restricted set of onsets when compared to monophthongs. Secondly, the two vowels ‘ㅚ/ø/, ㅟ/y/,’ which are still being debated about regarding to whether they are monophthongs or diphthongs, are similar to a diphthong cluster with respect to the frequency information of combining onsets. Finally, the two vowels ‘ㅔ/e/, ㅐ/æ/’, whose surface forms are undergoing a merging process in modern Korean, show different sets of onsets that they combine with. The use of a large language resource allows us to explore empirically existing patterns, which may otherwise remain undiscovered or unpredicted by any theory that describes only the permissible combinations.