earticle

영어

Korean shows very different sentence structure from Indo-European language, but unfortunately, its characteristic features are not yet clearly described. This paper claims the following structural characteristics: (1) No obligatory sentential element can be posited for the Korean sentence. (2) A Korean sentence consists of necessary elements in consideration of context. (3) A discussion of sentential semantics presupposes the distinction between meaning conveyed by the linguistic expression and information conveyed through the context. (4) Practically all Korean sentences are described not in terms of 'subject-predicate' structure, but in terms of 'topic-comment' structure. (5) The topic can be defined as 'field of judgement', the comment as 'content of judgement', and the sentential ending, as 'intention of utterance'. (6) The shared information between the speaker and the addressee is conveyed mainly through the context. (7) Examples of translation between Korean and English reveal the characteristic features of Korean sentence.