earticle

한국어

This study examined the syntactic and semantic functions of the ‘[object of comparison]－이 [criterion of comparison]－이  다 ’ and ‘[object of comparison] －이 [criterion of comparison]－과  다 ’ constructions through the analysis of specific examples in Middle Korean and discussed the form differences between the two comparison constructions derived from the perceptions of people using the language to distinguish the degree of equality linguistically. The study first demonstrated that the ‘[object of comparison]－이 [criterion of comparison]－이  다 ’ construction unique to Middle Korean was a linguistic form to show the partial(conditional) agreement of comparison criteria for the object of comparison. The semantic function of "figure of speech" is a subordinate concept of "comparison," expressing an object of comparison by alluding to the partial attributes of comparison criteria. The study thus estimated that the ‘[object of comparison]－이 [criterion of comparison]－이  다 ’ construction settled down as the most proper form for figure of speech. The study also demonstrated through the analysis of various examples that the ‘[object of comparison]－이 [criterion of comparison]－과  다 ’ construction showed the typical characteristics of complete agreement between on object of comparison and a criterion of comparison.