On the evolution of a multifunctional discourse marker: A Discourse Grammar analysis of Korean com

Abstract

Based on the Discourse Grammar framework, this study investigates what mechanisms are deployed in the rise of Korean DM com. The development of DM com involves two distinct mechanisms, namely grammaticalization and cooptation proposed by Heine et al. (2013a,b, 2020, 2021). More specifically, the rise of DM com involves the following three major stages: early grammaticalization leading from the diminutive quantifying noun cyekoma ‘a little (bit)’ to the adverb com ‘a little’ via phonological erosion, followed by cooptation whereby the coopted unit com is deployed as a discourse marker (DM), and finally late grammaticalization whereby the use of DM com is extended to new contexts inviting new discourse functions. The DM com is employed in various contexts including making polite requests, toning down assertions in potentially face-threatening situations, expressing negative emotions, and representing the speaker's playful engagement in seemingly impolite exchanges (e.g. banter and mock-disputes). Our analysis highlights a pivotal phase, which Heine refers to as ‘cooptation’, whereby lexical uses of com as quantifying noun and adverbial are redeployable for pragmatic uses as discourse markers expressing speaker attitude. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of how quantifying nouns can also evolve into speaker stance markers.