Phonetic Intonation Patterns of Geurae-yo in KICo

This study investigated the intonation patterns of Geurae-yo in KICo (Korean Intonation Corpus) with three primary objectives. First, we aimed to explore the nuances of polite intonation in Korean. By comparing the intonation of Geurae-yo with that of Geurae, we sought to discern whether variations in speech levels influence intonation. Second, we evaluated the necessity of implementing a phonetic intonation transcription method for teaching Korean as a second language (L2). To this end, we established the KICo convention for transcribing phonetic intonation, reanalyzing L% and H% in K-ToBI (Jun, 2000) as S% and F%, and S% and R%, respectively. Third, we introduced KICo to the Korean language education community, aiming to enhance understanding, accessibility, and usability. Our findings revealed distinct intonation patterns between Geurae and Geurae-yo, shedding light on the relationship between politeness and intonation in Korean. Additionally, our results demonstrated significant variations in the intonation of Geurae-yo across different meanings, further emphasizing the importance of considering phonetic intonation in both research and teaching of Korean intonation.