An Optimality Theoretic Account of Korean Partial Reduplication as a Suffixation Type

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show the following three characteristics regarding Korean partial reduplication. First, Korean partial reduplication data were meticulously reviewed and grouped anew reflecting the fundamental nature of the phenomena. The phonological condition of the prefixing type of reduplication requires that the base words should end in consonant ‘l’. By contrast, suffixing reduplication occurs in consonant-final base words except for final-‘l’. Secondly, Korean partial reduplication is argued to be basically suffixation of core syllable template, and some apparent prefixing cases are exceptions to the suffixation. This further indicates suffixation is a more universal phenomenon in morphology of partial reduplication. Thirdly, the complementary distribution of prefixing CV vs. CVC reduplicant patterns are determined by the interaction of the ranked constraints of Optimality Theory. This can also account for why suffixing reduplication does not show any complementarity between CV and CVC reduplicative templates. These findings contribute to making the current analysis more advanced and predictive than the previous analyses.