• Language and Information
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.93-125
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• 2009

We examine attributive possessive constructions in Korean in examples like wuli manwula 'my wife' and wuli nala 'my country', where an apparently plural pronoun wuli 'our' is used to convey the singular meaning of 'my.' An example like wuli manwula has been a frequent topic of joke, because it clearly contains the literal sense of 'shared wife.' This type of use and the frequent use of wuli in an exclusive my context led many to claim that these are products of Korean culture which emphasizes groups and group solidarity over individuality, the example wuli manwula being the extreme case. Drawing on the work of Taylor (1989; 1996), Croft (2001; 2003), Haspelmath (1997; 2003), and 윤재학 (2003), we compare the meanings of Korean and English possessive constructions and seek a more linguistically based account for the data. In particular, it is shown that (i) wuli in question is not really the plural form of nay 'my', (ii) the possessive constructions in Korean are more conservative and limited in possible relations than the English counterparts are, and that (iii) these two facts interact to produce the afore-mentioned uses.

• Language and Information
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.1-30
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• 2003

This paper strives to characterize the singular use of the possessive marker wuli in Korean, frequently interpreted as ‘our’. Focusing on its singular use and plurality, we argue that wuli is no plural form of nay ‘my’, but that it just marks in-group membership. It is shown that the apparent plurality of wuli only arises as a by-product of the in-group membership marking. It is also presented that age and gender are important factors in selecting between wuli and nay.