/ㅟ+ㅓ/ 축약형의 발음과 표기에 대한 연구

초록

The purpose of this study is to examine the contraction patterns of the Korean vowel sequence /ㅟ+ㅓ/ and to propose appropriate guidelines for its pronunciation and orthographic representation. In the case of /ㅟ+ㅓ/, contraction occurs when expressions such as ‘사귀어’ and ‘바뀌어’ are spoken naturally. However, neither the Standard Rules of Korean Pronunciation nor the Korean Orthography has yet addressed the contracted forms of the /ㅟ+ㅓ/ sequence. Although previous studies have proposed individual solutions, none has produced fully satisfactory results. Therefore, this study aims to present a new solution for the pronunciation and orthographic representation of /ㅟ+ㅓ/ through a comprehensive analysis related to the diachronic change of /ㅟ/. In order to clarify the phonetic characteristics of this contracted form, it is first necessary to examine the properties of the vowel /ㅟ/, because in Modern Korean it is realized in various ways depending on region and generation. According to the Standard Rules of Korean Pronunciation, /ㅟ/ can be pronounced both as a monophthong and as a diphthong; that is, it may be realized either as the monophthong [y] or as the diphthong [wi]. Speakers who pronounce /ㅟ/ as the monophthong [y] produce the contracted form of /ㅟ+ㅓ/ with [y] functioning as a semivowel, yielding the sound value [ɥ]. In contrast, speakers who pronounce /ㅟ/ as the diphthong [wi] treat the [i] component as a semivowel in the contracted form of /ㅟ+ㅓ/, so that /ㅟ/ is realized as [wj]. As a result, /ㅟ+ㅓ/ forms the triphthong [wjə]. Because this triphthong is difficult to articulate, actual speech often shows further reduction to [jə] through the deletion of the semivowel [w]. Meanwhile, in order to represent the contraction of ‘바뀌-’ and ‘-어’ in writing, the reduced vowels /ㅟ/ and /ㅓ/ would need to be expressed as a single diphthong. However, there is currently no Hangul letter that can represent this sound. Consequently, in actual usage the contraction of /ㅟ/ and /ㅓ/ is sometimes perceived as /ㅕ/ and even written as ‘바껴’. In everyday discourse, when /ㅓ/ follows /ㅟ/, the two sounds are commonly reduced and pronounced as a single syllable, yet there is no corresponding orthographic symbol to represent this structure. Given this situation, it is necessary to establish not only a pronunciation standard but also an orthographic representation for the contracted form of /ㅟ+ㅓ/. Accordingly, this study seeks to resolve the problems of pronunciation and orthography associated with /ㅟ+ㅓ/ by drawing on the diachronic development of /wi/ within the Korean vowel system.

키워드