UCLA

This dissertation explores the use of the final suffix -(u)l kel (henceforth kel) in managing epistemic deficiencies that emerge in Korean conversation. It aims to demonstrate a non-committal meaning that is achieved through the use of kel when access to knowledge that is requested from prior utterances is fragmentary. Specifically, the epistemic presumptions of information requests and assertions are investigated and shown to directly shape the subsequent social action that is understood with the deployment of kel. Furthermore, the concomitant use of a final high boundary tone is also considered. The tone initiates a momentary space for a negotiation where recipients of kel are given the opportunity to accept or reject the epistemic validity of kel-marked responses. As such, speakers’ utilization of non-committal kel brings to attention an interactional sequence, where speakers manage and respond to knowledge gaps and imbalances they know cannot be remedied in full

The study also looks at post-kel expansion sequences and finds the use of kel likely motivated by, first, a local epistemic contingency, in which speakers are compelled to find a balance between the demands of the prior utterances and their uncertain epistemic statuses. Secondly, kel provides speakers a grammatical resource, through which a relative, agreed-upon congruity in epistemics can be met. Although the initiation of negotiations do not necessarily guarantee an agreement from the recipients, the deployment of kel certainly points to a speaker’s desire to maneuver through uncertainties and ultimately achieve some level of mutual understanding and affiliation.