On Sloppy-like Interpretation of Null Arguments

Abstract

Arguments. Linguistic Research 28(3), 471-492. This paper aims to show that what are considered to be apparent sloppy readings in the null argument construction in Korean and Japanese are well accounted for under Ahn & Cho’s (2009, 2010, 2011b,c) pro analysis. The environments where such readings arise are categorized into five types. First, the antecedent noun includes either a reflexive possessor or a numeral quantifier. Second, the antecedent noun is a universal quantifier. Third, the antecedent noun includes a reflexive possessor and it denotes plural entities. Fourth, the antecedent is a negative polarity item. Fifth, the antecedent itself is a reflexive pronoun. By exploring these five cases, we show how far the possible interpretation of pro is stretched. We also show that our pro analysis is conceptually superior to the one that assumes an additional parameter plus pro drop parameter such as the agreement parameter that correlates with the presence or absence of DP ellipsis.