고구려어(高句麗語) 모음(母音)에 ‘’가 없었을까? -고구려어 표음자의 해섭자(蟹攝字) 분석 = Reconstruction of Vowel /*Λ/ in the Goguryeon Language

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

At least sixty xieshe 蟹攝 phonographs containing the coda /*-i/ were used to transcribe proper nouns in the language of Goguryeo 高句麗 (BCE 37～CE 668). Pronunciations of these phonographs have minimal pairs that differ in their main vowel. By comparing these minimal pairs, we can determine how many phonologically opposed vowels can be reconstructed in front of a coda /*-i/. This paper examines these vowels and discusses whether the vowel corresponding to /Λ/ in Middle Korean should be listed in the phonemic inventory of the Goguryeon language.
Phonographs in some xieshe rhymes such as taiyun 泰韻, jiyun 祭 韻, and feiyun 廢韻 are all pronounced with the qu tone 去聲 in Middle Chinese (MC). Many scholars argue that these rhymes must have been pronounced with the ru tone 入聲 in Old Chinese (OC), which is represented by a consonant ending. Therefore, xieshe phonographs in the Goguryeon language can be analyzed in two different ways based on their tones in MC and OC. First, if we classify taiyun, jiyun, and feiyun as a ru tone rhyme as in OC, there is no example of minimal pairs differing in the main vowel among haiyun 咍韻, taiyun 泰韻, jieyun 皆韻, jiayun 佳韻, jiyun 祭韻, and feiyun 廢韻 in the Goguryeon phonographs. Thus, a main vowel of all six of these rhymes can be reconstructed as an identical /*a/. On the other hand, there are several examples of minimal pairs between these rhymes and qíyun 齊韻, which leads us to reconstruct another vowel /*e/ as a main vowel of qíyun. In this binary opposition, only /*a/ and /*e/ can be reconstructed as a main vowel of xieshe rhymes.
However, if taiyun, jiyun, and feiyun are classified as the qu tone rhyme as in MC, the third vowel is required for triple opposition. In this scenario, there are a couple of minimal pairs between these rhymes and haiyun that differ in the main vowel. This means that the main vowel of haiyun was phonologically distinct from the main vowel of taiyun, jieyun, and jiayun in the Goguryeon phonographs. Thus, another vowel opposing the /*a/ and /*e/ should be allotted to the main vowel of haiyun. High vowels or rounded vowels cannot be a main vowel of xieshe rhymes. However, described as [-high, +back, -round, -low], the third vowel /*Λ/ is qualified as one of the main vowels of xieshe rhymes.
Because almost every Goguryeon phonograph borrowed MC pronunciation, this paper prefers the triple opposition to the binary one. In conclusion, this paper argues that /*Λ/, which corresponds to Middle Korean /Λ/, should be listed in the phonemic inventory of the Goguryeon language along with /*a/ and /*e/.