감탄사 ‘응’과 ‘어’ 사용에 나타난 사회언어학적 변이 연구

A Sociolinguistic Variation Study of Korean Exclamations ‘eung’ and ‘eo’

This article examines the variations found in the use of ‘eung’ and ‘eo’ in TV dramas and their scripts. Five series of TV drama televised during the 2010s were used as the data for this study, and 3,202 tokens of {eung} and {eo} were collected from the data. Statistical analyses were conducted using Goldvarb X and LVS (Language Variation Suite). Nine variants of {eung} and six variants of {eo} were observed in the data. Regression analyses showed that ‘discourse function’ of {eung} and {eo} was the primary constraint influencing the variation examined. Age was analyzed as another statistically significant factor: Older people used {eung} variants more often than younger people. This result may be taken to indicate either age grading or linguistic change in progress; further research based on careful methodology is in order for its accurate interpretation.