Exploring phonetics-morphology interaction: prosodic encoding of covert case marking in Korean

초록

In Korean, suffixal case markers can be omitted, resulting in covert (simplex) forms that are segmentally homophonous with overt (complex) counterparts (e.g., /ʧoŋi/ ‘paper’ vs. /ʧoŋ-i/ ‘bell-nom’) yet retain their morphosyntactic function. Because both types typically occur at major syntactic junctures that map onto phrasal prosodic boundaries, Korean offers an ideal testbed for examining how morphological distinctions—particularly those lacking overt case marking—are prosodically encoded. Using controlled production tasks in morphological and lexical focus contexts, speech from 21 Seoul speakers was analyzed for prosodic phrasing, duration, and f0 contour. At the macro (phonological) level, simplex forms were more often realized as independent Accentual Phrases (APs), placing them at prominent phrase edges. Such phrasing not only marks underspecified morphology, albeit in a subtle and probabilistic manner, but also provides access to boundary-related lengthening and tonal shaping. At the micro (phonetic) level, covert case marking recruited AP-final rime lengthening and greater f0 rise magnitudes, especially for the accusative. These effects, though sometimes context-dependent, indicate prosodic sensitivity to morphosyntactic informativity. The pattern cannot be accounted for by classical or extended Paradigm Uniformity accounts, which predict temporal expansion for morphologically complex forms, but instead by a Covert Morphology Enhancement account: prosodic resources are reallocated when morphological informativity is reduced due to covert case marking. The results thus show how optional case-marker omission in Korean can be compensated for through coordinated prosodic phrasing and fine-grained phonetic adjustments at the right edge of a phrase which is also know to carry prominence. More broadly, the study illustrates how prosodic realization—and phonetics more generally—balances systemic stability with listener-oriented enhancement in morphological encoding across languages, with the balance fine-tuned in language-specific ways, yielding both cross-linguistic commonalities and variation. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

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