Meaning and Intonation of Endings with Polysemous Modality: Through the Analysis of the Spontaneous Speech

인식·행위 양태 다의성 어미의 의미와 억양 -구어 자유발화 분석을 통하여-

The purpose of this paper is to identify the workings of intonation realized in the endings through the spoken language. To achieve this objective, this paper has analyzed 300 minutes of spontaneous speech by women from Seoul and discussed the meanings of modality and their relationship with intonation. Intonation functions significantly in polysemous modal endings in epistemic and act modality. Epistemic modality is usually expressed through indirect and soft intonations such as L:, M: and LH, whereas act modality is expressed through direct and strong intonations such as H, HL and LHL. Intonation appears to be related to the Certainty degree of information, rather than classification of modality, Lengthening relate to indirectness, H with uncertainty, L with statements or affirmation, and HL and LHL relates to assertive attitude. This paper is significant as it has overcome the abstractness of existing modality studies and has engaged in objective and comprehensive analysis with actual spontaneous speech data.