Split Object Sharing in Serial Verb Constructions

Abstract

This paper focuses on discussing split object sharing, along with object sharing, in SVCs from Korean, and establishing the appropriate structure for this phenomenon. It first shows that this fact cannot be handled with any head-final structures, and then demonstrates that the fact can be appropriately represented with a head-initial structure. Incidentally, object sharing, whole or split, is shown to follow from movement into a theta-position. According to the current claim, then Korean starts out as SVO and ends up displaying SOV properties in large part, thereby supporting Kayne’s (1994) universal SVO hypothesis and enhancing the possibility of eliminating the head parameter. Consequently, the results of this paper will require nontrivial modification in various areas of Korean syntax, for example, phrase structures, verbal morphology, etc.