Grammaticalization of Noun Phrase Complement Constructions into Conjunctive Endings in Korean

Abstract

This paper examines the grammaticalization process of noun phrase complement constructions into conjunctive endings in Korean with a special focus on constructions containing bound nouns that exhibit heterosemy with free nouns in Contemporary Korean. The process consists of two stages: the first stage is the transition of free nouns into bound nouns and the second stage is the transition of noun phrase complement constructions into conjunctive endings. The first stage is characterized by restrictions on elements preceding and following bound nouns and the weakening of lexical meaning. Characteristics of the second stage include fixation of forms and expression of grammatical meaning. Regarding the second stage, the cooccurence relation of these constructions with main clause sentence type is examined, as it shows that these constructions share similar features with conjunctive endings. The constructions in focus have undergone the first stage and are in the second stage at the moment.