연접의 운율적 특성

The Prosodic Characteristics of the Juncture

This study examines the prosodic properties of juncture involved in resolving structural ambiguity in Korean. While prior research has emphasized “pause” as a key phonetic cue, this paper argues that disambiguation occurs primarily at accentual phrase boundaries rather than intonation phrase boundaries. To account for this, a new prosodic unit, teum (“gap”), is proposed. Production experiments with Seoul/Gyeonggi speakers revealed that teum has a duration longer than typical accentual phrase boundaries but shorter than intonation phrase boundaries. It also often induces tonal changes, supporting its role in structural disambiguation. Some exceptions, however, suggest the need for further perceptual validation. By defining teum as a distinct and measurable prosodic unit, this study offers new insights into Korean prosody and the phonetic resolution of syntactic ambiguity.