• 비교문화연구
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• 제38권
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• pp.433-459
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• 2015

This paper aims at a better understanding of the concept of korean separable syntactic atom, of which inner parts is separable in syntax, and at examining whether or not this concept can apply to derivatives, functional complex constructions, idiomatic expressions in korean. I defined a syntactic atom as a minimum unit which is drawn directly from lexicon and then is applied to syntactic rules. And I insist that so-called 'lexical island constraint' has some problems and that the syntactic rules can be applied to inner parts of syntactic atom, if the syntactic rules is irrelevant to new syntactic atom formation. The greater part of derivatives is non-separable syntactic atoms. But the likes of '반짝거리다', '죄송스럽다', '칭얼대다' are the separable syntactic atoms. The degree of separability of them is different in the insertion of korean particles or negative adverbs and the omission of root of sytactic atom. The derivatives of 'X-적', of which roots is regular nominal roots, permit the syntactic link between roots and the syntactic combination of the root and its argument. These kinds of derivatives is separable syntactic atoms. Also the derivatives of 'bracket paradox' and 'X-답-' derivatives is separable syntactic atoms. All functional complex constructions are not separable syntactic atoms. According to the degree of grammaticalization, inner parts of some are separable, some is non-separable. Separable functional complex constructions only permit the switching of endings or Josas but not application of other syntactic rules. All idiomatic expressions which are composed of two or more syntactic atoms are separable syntactic atoms. Some of them have so strong separability to allow the insertion of syntactic atom, adverb or adnominal modification and the noun in idiomatic expression to become the head of the relative clause. And some idiomatic expressions which have weak separability only permit interrogative's substitution or form change in fraction of idiomatic expressions.