Information structure, topic predictability and gradients in Korean case ellipsis: A probabilistic account

Abstract

Lee, Hanjung. 2015. Information structure, topic predictability and gradients in Korean case ellipsis: A probabilistic account. Linguistic Research 32(3), 749-771. This paper examines previous characterizations of the phenomenon of case ellipsis in Korean in terms of the information status of argument NPs and provides empirical evidence for a probability-based account. Previous information structural accounts of case ellipsis tended to place exclusive importance on information structure and make a categorical distinction between case-marked and unmarked NPs based on their information status. However, evidence from experimental and conversation data demonstrates that judgments on case ellipsis are not categorical but gradient and that the frequency of argument ellipsis and case ellipsis for topic subjects and objects is correlated with the degree of topic predictability. This evidence supports the conclusion that both the effect of information structure and the gradient acceptability of case ellipsis can be explained in terms of probabilistic properties associated with argument NPs. (Sungkyunkwan University)