의미-기능 만능주의 문법론에 대하여 (Ⅰ)

Abstract

The so-called semantico-functional" grammarians like Kuno (1987), Bolinger (1977), Givon (1979), and Dik (1978) claim that genuine explanations" for grammatical or syntactic phenomena have to be semantic" or functional," since they believe that purely syntactic explanations are too narrow" or superficial" for proper account for any grammatical or syntactic phenomena. Thus, their claim leads to impotence of pure syntax and omnipotence of the semantico-functional" grammar, which is supposed to include semantics, pragmatics, functionalism, etc. This paper discusses problems with the semantico-functional" grammar claimed to be omnipotent, citing relevant examples and cases from Im (1987)(A Study 0η the Refiexive 'caki in Koreaη) which is also based on the allegedly omnipotent semantico-functional" grammar. First, the semantico-functional" grammar is not a scientific" or systematic theory of grammar since it does not have a fixed set of primitive concepts and axioms and makes use of concepts that cannot be grammatically or linguistically motivated. Second, the semantico-functional" grammar is not a balanced and motivated theory of grammar since it unjustly rejects the due grammatical significance of pure syntax in our overall grammar and ignores syntactic factors that play crucial roles even in the semantico-functional" grammar. Third, the semantico-functional" grammar has methodological problems since in many cases it uses terms and concepts that are not or cannot be explicitly defined, and makes claims on subjective and intuitive grounds.