Korean Nominal Groups: System and Structure

Abstract

The nominal group in Korean typically involves some combination of nouns (including common noun, proper noun, pronoun and bound noun), adjectives, numerals, determiners and clitics. In addition, the Korean nominal group has the potential to include embedded groups, embedded phrases and embedded clauses in its structure. These units realize a number of nominal group functions: Deictic, Epithet, Order, Thing; Qualifier, Orient; Quantity, Perspective and Function Marking. We begin by presenting nominal group systems and structures in three groups: first, systems that are realized by a word or word complex up to and including the Thing (i.e., classification, ordination, epithesis and deixis); second, systems that are realized by an embedded group, phrase or clause before the Thing (i.e., orientation and qualification); and third, systems that are realized after the Thing (i.e., quantification, perspectivisation and function marking). And we briefly consider the role played by nominal groups in clause structure, concentrating on transitivity, theme and participant deference. The question of the order of nominal group functions and the classes through which they are realized is then approached from a functional language typology perspective – highlighting the complementarity of ideational and textual specification.