한중 ‘던지다’, ‘投’ 의미 확장의 인지적 분석

초록

This study examines the meaning extension patterns of the Korean and Chinese hand-action verbs “던지다” and “投” and the cognitive mechanisms underlying these extensions, from an embodied perspective in cognitive linguistics. First, a review of historical literature reveals that the older form of the Korean verb “던지다” is “더디다,” found in 15th-century texts. Meanwhile, the Chinese verb “投” has undergone semantic expansion since ancient times, being used with meanings such as “to give,” “to mount,” “to discard,” “to commit suicide,” and “to submit a memorial.” During the Tang dynasty, it also acquired the meanings “to lodge” and “to stay.” Next, a corpus analysis shows that in both languages, these verbs share extended meanings such as “throwing one’s entire body,” “voting,” “investing,” “asking questions,” “casting one’s gaze,” “throwing (or casting) light/shadows,” “devoting one’s mind/spirit,” “causing shock or repercussions,” “sacrificing oneself,” and “committing suicide.” However, in Korean, an additional meaning of “to quit one’s job” emerges, while in Chinese, extensions such as “to send letters or documents,” “to cooperate harmoniously,” and “approaching deadline/time” are identified. These findings suggest that the physical act of “throwing” provides a foundational pattern, which—through conceptual metaphor and metonymy based on similarity and contiguity—leads to the observed meaning extensions.

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