Exclamation and Polarity Focus in Korean Rhetorical Questions

doi:10.18627/jslg.41.1.202505.7

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2025 Vol.41, Issue 1 Next Page

Research Article

Exclamation and Polarity Focus in Korean Rhetorical Questions 한국어 수사의문문에서 감탄의 조건과 극성 초점: 강아름^1*
Kang, Arum^1*; ¹충남대학교

¹Chungnam National University

31 May 2025. pp. 7-25

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Abstract

This study examines a subtype of Korean rhetorical questions that function as exclamatives rather than as polarity-reversing assertions. These exclamative rhetorical questions (ERQs) express surprise at an unexpectedly high degree or positive evaluation, without relying on prior common ground. Adopting Rett’s (2011) degree-based theory and focus semantics, the paper argues that ERQs involve covert gradable predicates and verum focus (VF), which together highlight a shift between the speaker’s expectation and reality. The analysis shows how rhetorical questions can encode exclamative meaning through mirativity and evaluative focus.

Keywords

rhetorical questions

exclamatives

polarity shift

expectation violation

degree semantics

References

강규영. 2022. 한국어 수사의문문의 두 유형에 대하여. 韓國學, 103, 473-505.10.15811/jkl.2022..103.014
국립국어원. 1999. 표준국어대사전.
김영희. 2005. 수사 의문문에서의 되풀이 현상. 어문학, 87, 131-155.
남기심, 고영근. 1985. 표준 국어문법론. 서울: 탑출판사.
명정희, 백인영. 2024. ‘뭐 그렇게’가 포함된 수사의문문의 의미 연구. 韓國學, 110, 315-343.10.15811/jkl.2024..110.009
박지상. 2023. 한국어 수사의문문의 기능 및 형식 연구. 석사학위논문, 서울대학교 대학원.
박재승, 권선아 . 2009. 반어문의 통사적‧화용적 특징에 관한 연구. 한중언어문화연구, 19, 116-134.
박종갑. 1982. 의문문과 간접 언어행위. 한민족어문학, 9, 55-76.
박진호. 2019. 正反의문문과 수사의문문. 韓國學報, 36, 1-24.
서정수. 2013. 국어문법. 서울: 집문당.
위혜경. 2023. 극성 선택 의문문과 극성 초점. 언어와 정보, 27.2, 117-137.10.29403/LI27.2.4
Ahn, M. and Kang, A. 2020. The Prosody of Wh-and Rhetorical Questions in Korean. Studies in Phonetics. Phonology and Morphology 26.3, 503-522.
Biezma, M. and Rawlins, K. 2017. Rhetorical Questions: Serving Questioning from Asking. In D. Burgdorf, and J. Collard (eds.), Proceedings of 27th of Semantics and Linguistic Theory, 302-322.10.3765/salt.v27i0.4155
Carponigro, I. and Sprouse, J. 2007. Rhetorical Questions as Questions. In E. Puig-Waldmueller (ed.), The proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 11, 121-133.
Chernilovskaya, A. 2010. Exclamatives Have a Question Semantics! Presentation at the 6th International Symposium of Cognition, Logic and Communication, “Formal Semantics and Pragmatics: Discourse, Context, and Models”, Riga, Latvia.
Chierchia, G. and McConnell-Ginet, S. 1990. Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Meaning. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Cresswell, M. 1976. The Semantics of Degree. In Partee, B. H. (ed.), Montague grammar. New York: Academic Press, 261-292.10.1016/B978-0-12-545850-4.50015-7
D’Avis, F.-J. 2002. On the Interpretation of Wh-clauses in Exclamative Environments. Theoretical Linguistics 28, 5-31.10.1515/thli.2002.28.1.5
Elliott, D. E. 1974. Toward a Grammar of Exclamations. Foundations of Language 11.2, 231-246.
Goodhue, D. 2018. On Asking and Answering Biased Polar Questions. Doctoral dissertation, McGill University.
Heim, I. 1994. Interrogative Semantics and Karttunen’s Semantics for Know. Proceedings of 1st Isreal Association for Theoretical Linguistics, 128-144.
Kim, O. and Kim, J.-B. 2022. Negative Wh-constructions in Korean: A Discourse-based Approach. Studies in Generative Grammar 32.1, 49-74.
Kim, O. and Kim, J.-B. 2025. Mirative Why-like What Questions in Korean. Korean Journal of Linguistics 50.1, 175-206.
Park, M.-K. and Kang, A. 2020. The Rhetorical Adjunct Wh mwue (-l)‘what’in Korean. The Journal of Linguistic Science 95, 111-135.10.21296/jls.2020.12.95.111
Rett, J. 2008a. A Degree Account of Exclamatives. Proceedings of 18th Semantics and Linguistic Theory 18, 601-618.10.3765/salt.v18i0.2470
Rett, J. 2008b. Degree Modification in Natural language. PhD Thesis, Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Rett, J. 2011. Exclamatives, degrees and speech acts. Linguistics and Philosophy 34,5, 411-442.10.1007/s10988-011-9103-8
Romero, M. and Han, C.-H. 2004. On negative yes/no questions. Linguistics and Philosophy 27, 609-658. 10.1023/B:LING.0000033850.15705.94
Rooth, M. 1992. A Theory of Focus Interpretation. Natural Language Semantics 1.1, 5-116.10.1007/BF02342617
Rooth, M. 1999. Association with Focus or Association with Presupposition? In P. Bosch and Rob van der Sandt, (eds.), Focus: Linguistic, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 232-244.
Searle, J. R. 1969. Speech acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. London: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139173438
Stalnaker, R. C. 1978. Assertion. In Pragmatics, 315-332.10.1163/9789004368873_013
Zanuttini, R. and Portner, P. 2003. Exclamative Clauses: At the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Language 79.1, 39-81.10.1353/lan.2003.0105

Information

Publisher :The Modern Linguistic Society of Korea
Publisher(Ko) :한국현대언어학회
Journal Title :The Journal of Studies in Language
Journal Title(Ko) :언어연구
Volume : 41
No :1
Pages :7-25
DOI :https://doi.org/10.18627/jslg.41.1.202505.7

[1] 강규영. 2022. 한국어 수사의문문의 두 유형에 대하여. 韓國學, 103, 473-505.10.15811/jkl.2022..103.014

[2] 국립국어원. 1999. 표준국어대사전.

[3] 김영희. 2005. 수사 의문문에서의 되풀이 현상. 어문학, 87, 131-155.

[4] 남기심, 고영근. 1985. 표준 국어문법론. 서울: 탑출판사.

[5] 명정희, 백인영. 2024. ‘뭐 그렇게’가 포함된 수사의문문의 의미 연구. 韓國學, 110, 315-343.10.15811/jkl.2024..110.009

[6] 박지상. 2023. 한국어 수사의문문의 기능 및 형식 연구. 석사학위논문, 서울대학교 대학원.

[7] 박재승, 권선아 . 2009. 반어문의 통사적‧화용적 특징에 관한 연구. 한중언어문화연구, 19, 116-134.

[8] 박종갑. 1982. 의문문과 간접 언어행위. 한민족어문학, 9, 55-76.

[9] 박진호. 2019. 正反의문문과 수사의문문. 韓國學報, 36, 1-24.

[10] 서정수. 2013. 국어문법. 서울: 집문당.

[11] 위혜경. 2023. 극성 선택 의문문과 극성 초점. 언어와 정보, 27.2, 117-137.10.29403/LI27.2.4

[12] Ahn, M. and Kang, A. 2020. The Prosody of Wh-and Rhetorical Questions in Korean. Studies in Phonetics. Phonology and Morphology 26.3, 503-522.

[13] Biezma, M. and Rawlins, K. 2017. Rhetorical Questions: Serving Questioning from Asking. In D. Burgdorf, and J. Collard (eds.), Proceedings of 27th of Semantics and Linguistic Theory, 302-322.10.3765/salt.v27i0.4155

[14] Carponigro, I. and Sprouse, J. 2007. Rhetorical Questions as Questions. In E. Puig-Waldmueller (ed.), The proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 11, 121-133.

[15] Chernilovskaya, A. 2010. Exclamatives Have a Question Semantics! Presentation at the 6th International Symposium of Cognition, Logic and Communication, “Formal Semantics and Pragmatics: Discourse, Context, and Models”, Riga, Latvia.

[16] Chierchia, G. and McConnell-Ginet, S. 1990. Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Meaning. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

[17] Cresswell, M. 1976. The Semantics of Degree. In Partee, B. H. (ed.), Montague grammar. New York: Academic Press, 261-292.10.1016/B978-0-12-545850-4.50015-7

[18] D’Avis, F.-J. 2002. On the Interpretation of Wh-clauses in Exclamative Environments. Theoretical Linguistics 28, 5-31.10.1515/thli.2002.28.1.5

[19] Elliott, D. E. 1974. Toward a Grammar of Exclamations. Foundations of Language 11.2, 231-246.

[20] Goodhue, D. 2018. On Asking and Answering Biased Polar Questions. Doctoral dissertation, McGill University.

[21] Heim, I. 1994. Interrogative Semantics and Karttunen’s Semantics for Know. Proceedings of 1st Isreal Association for Theoretical Linguistics, 128-144.

[22] Kim, O. and Kim, J.-B. 2022. Negative Wh-constructions in Korean: A Discourse-based Approach. Studies in Generative Grammar 32.1, 49-74.

[23] Kim, O. and Kim, J.-B. 2025. Mirative Why-like What Questions in Korean. Korean Journal of Linguistics 50.1, 175-206.

[24] Park, M.-K. and Kang, A. 2020. The Rhetorical Adjunct Wh mwue (-l)‘what’in Korean. The Journal of Linguistic Science 95, 111-135.10.21296/jls.2020.12.95.111

[25] Rett, J. 2008a. A Degree Account of Exclamatives. Proceedings of 18th Semantics and Linguistic Theory 18, 601-618.10.3765/salt.v18i0.2470

[26] Rett, J. 2008b. Degree Modification in Natural language. PhD Thesis, Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

[27] Rett, J. 2011. Exclamatives, degrees and speech acts. Linguistics and Philosophy 34,5, 411-442.10.1007/s10988-011-9103-8

[28] Romero, M. and Han, C.-H. 2004. On negative yes/no questions. Linguistics and Philosophy 27, 609-658. 10.1023/B:LING.0000033850.15705.94

[29] Rooth, M. 1992. A Theory of Focus Interpretation. Natural Language Semantics 1.1, 5-116.10.1007/BF02342617

[30] Rooth, M. 1999. Association with Focus or Association with Presupposition? In P. Bosch and Rob van der Sandt, (eds.), Focus: Linguistic, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 232-244.

[31] Searle, J. R. 1969. Speech acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. London: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139173438

[32] Stalnaker, R. C. 1978. Assertion. In Pragmatics, 315-332.10.1163/9789004368873_013

[33] Zanuttini, R. and Portner, P. 2003. Exclamative Clauses: At the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Language 79.1, 39-81.10.1353/lan.2003.0105

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