교수와 대학생 간 과업중심대화에서 ‘-습니다’체의 사용에 관한 연구

초록

The aim of this study is to explore the interactional functions of ‘-supnita,’ a formal and deferential ending predominantly employed in written text. As Korean society undergoes a shift away from traditional hierarchical structures, the informal honorific ending ‘-yo’ is becoming increasingly common. Meanwhile, other honorific endings, including ‘-supnita,’ are either diminishing or adopting different pragmatic functions. In this study, only 66 instances of ‘-supnita’ were identified in task-based conversations involving 40 pairs of male and female professors and college students. The analysis of the speech acts/semantic functions associated with each ‘-supnita’ revealed that agreement emerged as the most frequent, followed by declarations, story descriptions, greetings, expressions of will, and opinions. However, relying solely on speech act/semantic analysis had its limitations, necessitating a broader contextual examination of ‘-supnita.’ The findings suggest that speakers employ ‘-supnita’ to mark the formalization or declarative stance in various ways, even in informal conversations. Specifically, ‘-supnita’ manifested in the form of (1) a stand-alone official declaration, (2) a final official confirmation, and (3) a declaration infused with theatrical elements. In conclusion, the ‘-supnita’ style appears to serve as a tool to signal the speaker’s new stance, that is, transitioning the phase of the conversation into a formal scene to formalize or declare their statement.

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