Modalized Questions in Korean

Abstract

In this study, we propose an analysis of a novel subtype of modalized questions in Korean. Modalized questions express the speaker’s non-commitment to the propositional content by emphasizing the equal possibility of p and ¬p worlds given what the speaker’s doxastic world is (Kang and Yoon, to appear). Thus far, the inquisitive disjunction marker nka has been analyzed as the only modalized question marker, but we identify (u)l-kka as another subtype of modalized question marker. Our proposal comprises two main parts: First, we show that (u)l-kka can be morphologically decomposed into the irrealis marker (u)l and the question marker kka; specifically, (u)l can be further analyzed as an epistemic subjunctive whose semantic role is equivalent to the English epistemic might. Second, given three core properties of modalized questions, inquisitiveness, epistemic modality, and subjunctive mood, the behavior of nka and (u)l-kka can be properly incorporated under the framework of nonveridical equilibrium. The current analysis thus suggests an extended spectrum of (u)l from the previously known irrealis adnominalizer to the epistemic subjunctive suffix.