조건문의 담화적 기능 = On Discourse Functions of Conditionals

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper addresses the functions of conditionals in actual discourse situations. It first argues for the importance of appropriate sampling to ensure unbiased interpretation of data. Thus this paper draws upon drama scripts, which is relatively free from shortcomings typically associated with spontaneous utterance data and yet reflects sufficient characteristics of colloquialit, as well as actual discourse transcripts. Conditionals in discourse texts largely function as a cohesive device between discourse units. Such device comprises of repetition, inversion and ellipsis. From a strict informativity perspective, repetition may be viewed as counter-effective. However, from an interactive perspective it may be viewed as a reinforcer- of information between the interlocuters. This has to do with the fact that repetition is more frequently used in colloquial texts rather than in literary texts. Inversion is typically employed when the speaker is seeking confirmation from the addressee or when the speaker is emotional, in which case more important information is uttered first to draw addressee`s sufficient attention to it. With regards to ellipsis, only the apodosis is subject to omission, where elided information is recoverable from the context, idiomaticity, inferences or encyclopedic knowledge. Coherence of the conditionals takes various forms, the typology of which is herein suggested. Relationship with the previous text can be grouped as affirmative acceptance, negative acceptance, and transition, which in turn are subground according to their coherence types; i.e. affirmative acceptance encompasses exposition, assumption, and exemplification; and negative acceptance encompasses contrast and suggestion. Thus the functions are presented in 6 categories and explicated individually. This paper aims at constituting a part of systematic investigation of conditionals in terms of their roles in textuality, discourse and grammar.