2. Caveats
• This SCOBA is really partial as well as really
incomplete.
• There are much more complicated issues
involved in 은/ 는 versus 이/ 가
alterations.
3. 은/ 는 vs 이/가
• 은 versus 는 (and 이 versus 가)
alterations are based on the phonological
environment.
• However, the choice between 은/ 는 and
이/ 가 is motivated by semantic and
conceptual rationale.
4. Rules of Thumb
• Sentences containing 은/는, the important
message (the thing you want to say) comes
after 은/는.
• Sentences containing 이/가, the important
message (the thing you want to say) comes
before 이/가.
5. Some examples
A: 저 사람은 누구입니까? (Who is the man?)
B: 저 사람은 성우입니다. (The man is Sungwoo.)
Cf.
저 사람이 누구더라? ((To oneself) Who is the man?)
(You think you have information about the man.)
A: 저 사람은 누구입니까? (Who is the man?)
B: 저 사람이 George Lakoff 입니다. (The man is George Lakoff.)
(You think the hearer (or the general public including the hearer) has
background information about George Lakoff.)
6. Issues / Conceptualization
• Difficulty in applying the notion of “important
message”
• Need to conceptualize this grammatical
alternations using the notion of shared
knowledge
7. A 은/ 는 B 이다.
(저 사람은 성우입니다.)
B
B
(Sungwoo)
(Sungwoo)
DELIVERY
METAPHOR
8. A 이/ 가 B 이다.
(저 사람이 성우입니다.)
AAhhaa!!
B
B
(Sungwoo)
(Sungwoo)
ACTIVATION
METAPHOR
9. Conclusion
It is further needed to:
• Incorporate some other conceptualizations of
은/ 는 and 이/ 가 alternations
• Explore how to match human
conceptualization with animation-based
SCOBA
10. Conclusion
It is further needed to:
• Incorporate some other conceptualizations of
은/ 는 and 이/ 가 alternations
• Explore how to match human
conceptualization with animation-based
SCOBA
