From negation to shared knowledge: The evolution of utterance-final -canha in spoken Korean

Abstract

This paper explores the functional and formal shift from the negative construction in Korean -ci anh- to -canha, which currently functions as an utterance-final particle that manages the information structure in discourse, by explicitly marking what the speaker believes to be shared with the other interlocutor. Although linguistic changes that have taken place over time usually requires a thorough examination of diachronic data, this paper shows that it is sometimes possible to trace a linguistic change by examining its synchronic uses, particularly when the change is quite recent and hence ‘historical’ data are not particularly relevant. Because the former form -ci anh- and its reduced form -canha co-exist in Modern Spoken Korean with very distinct functions, a comparative study of these forms will provide insight into how the utterance-final particle -canha has evolved. A usage-based analysis is used to show how a negative construction evolved into a marker of shared knowledge. Furthermore, this study argues that the recurrent (inter)subjectification in the evolution of -canha not only shows the constant, dynamic negotiation of common ground between the speakers in spoken language, but is an important motivation for the shifts of a construction from one function to another.