광주 지역어 간투 표현의 사용 양상과 화용 기능

Use Aspect and Pragmatic Functions of Interjective Expressions in the Gwangju Dialect

This study investigates the pragmatic functions of interjective expressions such as ‘inja, jeogeo, and mwo’ in the Gwangju dialect of Korean, using corpus data. Unlike standard Korean interjections, which are typically speaker-oriented fillers, these dialectal expressions retain some lexical meaning and serve primarily interactional, hearer-oriented purposes. The analysis identifies two main functions. First, they serve as utterance boundary markers, with ‘inja’ in particular acting as a ‘scene-setting’ device in narrative discourse to guide the listener's attention. Second, they function to build empathy among participants. These expressions activate common ground, transforming a personal narrative into a shared experience. This is empirically confirmed through sequential analysis of listener backchannels, which demonstrates successful empathetic engagement. This research contributes to the field by shifting the focus of interjection studies from speaker-internal processes to their crucial role as interactional devices in regional dialects, used strategically to structure discourse and build intersubjectivity.