Speaker Commitments by ′-canh-′and ′-ci′ in Korean

Comparing the uses of '-canh-' with the ones of '-ci,'this study suggests that different modal interpretat ions by '-canh-' and '-ci' is based on the interpersonal relationship between speaker and interlocutor. While noting that '-canh-' and '-ci' are the modal indicators denoting degrees of speaker commitment, for making clear the illocutionary force of utterances, it is observed and explained that what the speaker is committed respectively by using '-canh-' and '-ci' is highly sensitive to the relativity of the known/unknown status of the informal ion introduced into discourse contexts .