부산대학교 도서관

This article explores variation in the assimilation pattern of the nasal-liquid sequence in Korean. Approaches to nasal-lateral assimilation in Korean (Kang 2002, Sohn 2006), based on researcher intuition, assume that assimilation is categorical and only depends on morphological structure. However, this article critically examines these assumptions and reveals variability within the assimilation pattern by conducting a survey carefully controlled for relevant factors. The results show that the factors that are relevant to the variation are ‘word-frequency’, ‘syllable count’ and ‘age’. Based on these findings, this article offers an optimality-theoretic account (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004, McCarthy & Prince 1995) for the variation by adopting Vestige Theory (Kostakis 2010, 2017). Specifically, we argue that the constraint Max-OO[nas/cod] constraint has been demoted to below Max-IO[lat] leaving behind a vestige constraint: Vestige[Max-OO[nas/cod]]. The vestige constraint probabilistically flashes on and off based on the above-mentioned morphological and demographic factors licensing variation in the assimilation pattern of nasal-lateral sequences in Korean.