Constructions In Korean Research Articles

On the Emergence of Pragmatic Markers from Pseudo-Question Constructions in English and Korean: A Grammaticalization Perspective

On the Emergence of Pragmatic Markers from Pseudo-Question Constructions in English and Korean: A Grammaticalization Perspective

Hyper Structure for Korean “-Kes Kath-ta” Constructions*

The purpose of the paper is to explore the viability of employing Speech Act Phrase structure to explain “-kes kath-ta” constructions in Korean. Based on the argument that interfacing between syntax and conversational pragmatics is established through a functional predicative structure which is projected through the syntacticization of speech act features, we suggest that the speech act layer for “-kes kath-ta” constructions is needed as a predicative structure encoding the conversational set-up to interpret the utterance compositionally.

The Syntactic Structures of Morphological Causative Constructions in Korean: Focusing on the Agentive Verb Bases. Studies in Modern Grammar

The Syntactic Structures of Morphological Causative Constructions in Korean: Focusing on the Agentive Verb Bases. Studies in Modern Grammar

The Possessum that Ran Away from Home

In possessor agreement constructions in Korean, where a possessor and its possessum show case agreement, the possessum seems to resist extraction. Interestingly, such restriction disappears in elliptical contexts and right dislocation. This paper focuses on the issue, presence or absence of the restriction possessum movement shows. Cho (2007) suggests that the movement asymmetries observed in the possessor agreement construction are accounted for as a consequence of cyclic linearization requirement and shows that the contrast between elliptical context and non-elliptical contexts is correctly predicted under the cyclic linearization-based analysis. Following this analysis, I suggest that the contrast between leftward movement and right dislocation contexts is similar to the contrast between non-elliptical and elliptical contexts.

The Syntax of Modifier-Sharing Constructions in Korean: Evidence from a Phonetic Experiment

The Syntax of Modifier-Sharing Constructions in Korean: Evidence from a Phonetic Experiment

The Organization Constructions in Japanese and Korean

The Organization Constructions in Japanese and Korean

Decomposing complex serialization

This paper investigates the role of merger and the typology ofvin the syntax of Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) in Korean. Some SVCs with a derivational suffix (e.g. a causative/passivev) in Korean display distinct behavior from the others. We argue that this is due to different syntactic structures among SVCs and that SVCs in Korean must be divided into two sub-types: H(igh)-SVC and L(ow)-SVC. Specifically, we propose that different types of SVCs result from different merger sites of the derivationalvhead. An H-SVC results when a causative or passivevhead is merged to a verb before it is serialized with another verb; an L-SVC results when verbal serialization occurs prior to the merger of the derivationalvhead. We then turn our attention to a condition on verbal serialization, and propose that verbs can be serialized only when theirvheads bear the specific identical property of introducing an external argument. We show that our matching condition coupled with the proposed dichotomy of SVCs has broader empirical coverage than the previous analyses. Theoretically, our study supports the claim that the morphology and the syntax are intertwined so that the attachment site of derivational suffixes may vary in syntax. Our argument also provides novel support for the finer-grained classification ofvheads.

What the Partitive Reading of Floating Quantifiers in Korean Tells Us about the Korean Extended DP Structure

This paper aims to present a DP structure of Korean, based on Korean Floating Quantifiers (FQ). As pointed out by Park (2008), among many others, there are various types of FQ constructions in Korean, which have already received much attention. Based on previous studies, such as Schwarzschild (2006) and Park (2008), this paper tries to analyze the following two points, which we believe have not been discussed in detail. First, some measure phrases (MPs) can also appear in FQ constructions, but other MPs cannot, and second, only some types of FQ constructions can receive the partitive interpretation. This paper shows that the distribution of MPs is closely related to Schwarzschild’s (2006) monotonicity constraint on MPs, and analyzes the distribution as well as the interpretation of MPs and classifier phrases in FQ constructions in parallel with Schwarzschild (2006) and Park (2008).

Copular Constructions and Asymmetries in the Specificational Pseudocleft Constructions in Korean

The noun kes, occurring in many syntactic environments, can introduce the so-called pseudocleft constructions in Korean. This paper discusses the animacy asymmetry we find in the Korean pseudocleft constructions and suggests that the explanation for such asymmetry follows from the proper interpretation of specificational pseudocleft constructions as well as their information structure properties.

Locality and the Phase ImpenetrabilityCondition in Scrambling

It is generally accepted that the Phrase Impenetrability Condition (PIC) serves as an important instrument of the phase-based operational system in the minimalist framework. However, ever since its advent in Chomsky (1993), the PIC’s actual formations have undergone significant refinements. More specifically, the PIC can be incorporated into two versions: PIC1 and PIC2. In this paper, I demonstrated that Floating Numeral Quantifier (FNQ) constructions in Korean could provide a good testing ground for a choice between two versions of the PIC. I showed that numerous problems germane to the conventional Locality accounts for the FNQs recur under the derivational patterns of the PIC1, but many of them, if not most or all, disappear under the operational systems of the PIC2. Along with these perspectives, I discussed some important arguments relevant to the two versions of PIC in this paper. After the discussion, I conclude this study with the claim that the arguments I made in this paper, if tenable, supply an important piece of empirical evidence supporting the present line of phase development.

Idioms in Korean Ditransitive Constructions

This paper discusses a so-called asymmetric theory of idiom formation in Korean ditransitive constructions, focusing on its problems. The asymmetric approach, in particular proposed by Kim (2012), claims that the prepositional dative (PD) and the double object construction (DOC) are syntactically different, and that this difference is able to predict logically possible/impossible idiom patterns in Korean ditransitives. This paper, however, argues that idiom formation in ditransitives is better captured in a verb-sensitive approach (Rappaport and Levin, 2008; Levin, 2009, 2010) claiming that a verb’s meaning determines its own argument realization. This idea is supported by fixed argument idioms whose types are fixed theme and fixed goal idioms. It appears that fixed goal idioms only involve send-type verbs associating caused motion and caused possession, whereas fixed theme idioms involve give-type verbs associating caused possession. This study also concludes with the suggestion that the classification of give-type and send-type verbs in Korean needs to be more refined: the verb tencita ‘throw’, for example, is expected to be associated with the caused motion event just like ‘send’ but appears to prefer the theme-goal-V order.

Asymmetric ditransitive constructions: Evidence from Korean

This paper investigates the underlying structures of the two ditransitive constructions in Korean, the postpositional dative construction (realized as [Dative–Accusative]) and the double object construction (realized as [Accusative–Accusative]). We evaluate two approaches proposed in the literature, Harley's (1997, 2002) symmetric theory and Bruening's (2010) asymmetric theory in the sense of Marantz's (1993) applicative analysis: Harley's approach is symmetric since it posits a symmetric structure for the two constructions, whereas Bruening's approach is asymmetric because it posits a different structure for each construction. We draw data from quantifier scope, nominalizations, and ditransitive idioms in Korean which have not been systematically discussed in the literature, and show that they lend support to the proposed asymmetric theory that the double object construction in Korean, unlike its dative counterpart, is introduced by an applicative head. We also argue how the observed patterns in Korean cannot be reconciled with the Harley-type structures. The result of the discussion will show that despite the lack of the overt morphology Korean can be added to the inventory of languages that has a double object construction with applicative characteristics.

Some Notes on Ko’s (2014b, 2015) Hybrid Approach to the Korean RDC

Ko (2014b, 2015) argues for a hybrid approach to the right-dislocation construction (RDC) in Korean: An argument-type RDC results when the argument appendix undergoes S-focus movement to the SPEC of FocP and subsequently the remnant moves to the SPEC of TopP; in contrast, the adjunct-type RDC results from concatenating the adjunct appendix with the root clause. This review paper evaluates Ko‘s (2014b, 2015) hybrid approach, mainly addressing her treatment of the asymmetric behaviors that post-verbal WH-phrases vs. negative polarity items display and of the modification relation that the adjunct-type appendix has. It will be pointed out that there exist several non-trivial theoretical and empirical challenges to the hybrid approach, despite various interesting and insightful points it provides.

An experimental study on interpretive properties of multiple nominative/subject constructions (MNCs/MSCs) in Korean

An experimental study on interpretive properties of multiple nominative/subject constructions (MNCs/MSCs) in Korean

Evidentiality in interaction

This paper examines how hearsay evidential markers in Korean are used within the pragmatic domain to serve a wide range of epistemic and politeness functions. In particular, we focus on a new paradigm of hearsay evidential markers — more specifically, the V-ta ha-X > V-ta-X type, among them-tako,-tamye,-tamyense,-tanun, and-tanta(see Ahn & Yap 2014) — and using data from theSejongContemporary Spoken Corpus, we examine the extended uses of these hearsay evidential markers in natural conversations, and show how these ‘say’-derived evidential markers contribute to the expression of different shades of speaker stance. Special attention is also given to their distinctive roles in modulating the strength — as well as pragmatic nuance — of an epistemic claim. This study also examines the role of main-clause ellipsis, in particular its contribution to the reanalysis of the (quoted) complement clause as a stand-alone ‘new main clause’, and the concomitant reinterpretation of the erstwhileha‘say’ complement-taking matrix clause as a sentence final particle that often retains an evidential reading but also captures the pragmatic nuance of its discourse context. The findings of this study contribute to a fuller understanding of how ‘say’-derived evidential constructions in Korean (and potentially also in other languages) extend their semantic scope to develop into markers of speakers’ subjective and intersubjective/interpersonal stance.

A Semantic Study of ‘[X]ADJ+-Eojida’ Construction in Korean

A Semantic Study of ‘[X]ADJ+-Eojida’ Construction in Korean

Constructions Sharing Similar Restrictions with MSCs in Korean and the Processing Approach to Island Effects

One salient property of multiple subject constructions (MSCs) in Korean is that they need to satisfy various restrictions the nature of which is mainly interpretive. Interestingly, the restrictions identified for MSCs are not confined to them but restrictions similar to them are observed with various other constructions in Korean such as subject-to-object raising constructions, double relative constructions and some topic constructions. A natural question arising from this is why these diverse constructions share similar restrictions with MSCs. In this paper I claim that this is because they all share a common characteristic with MSCs, not because their derivation involves MSCs, as is commonly proposed to be the case. To be specific, my claim is that this common characteristic is the fact that all the constructions in question involve an island configuration and that the reason such constructions are subject to various restrictions is because they incur heavy processing loads.

On the Typology of Small Clauses: Null Subject and Mode of Merge in Resultatives

This paper investigates the syntax of small clauses (SCs), with special focus on resultative constructions in Korean. I propose that resultative...

Modifier-sharing constructions in Korean

This paper discusses modifier-sharing constructions, which exhibit two split antecedents sharing one modifier. We examine Korean modifier-sharing...

An Empirical Study of Korean Adjectival Predicates that License Double Nominative Constructions

Despite the numerous studies proposed to explain double nominative constructions (DNCs) in Korean, empirical approaches to the predicate types that license their essential complements for conversion into nominatives have attracted little attention from scholars. However, given that, from syntactic and semantic viewpoints, the DNCs result from diverse and complex linguistic realities, a rigorous examination of the predicate types is required before attempting to elaborate theoretical assumptions further. Based on a large database of 6,600 Korean adjectives, this study distinguishes two types of DNCs: Predicate-Dependent DNCs (PD-DNCs), where the two nominatives are essential arguments of the adjectival predicates; and Discourse-Dependent DNCs (DD-DNCs), where one of the two nominatives is not related to the argument structures, but either is generated by the split of one argument or is newly introduced at the discourse level. About 30% of the 6,600 adjectives license PD-DNCs. On this basis, the current study provides two findings on PD-DNCs. First, adjectives licensing PD-DNCs are classified into five syntactic and semantic sub-types, the predominant complement type that is convertible into a nominative being that in -EY. Second, the adjectives licensing their complements for conversion into nominatives mostly show certain peculiar syntactic properties: most of them permit two syntactic constructions in a subject-complement crossing (SCC) relation like 'N1-NOM N2-POS ADJ-DEC=N2-NOM N1-POS ADJ-DEC'. With regard to DD-DNCs, in this study the DNCs are divided into four sub-types, which exhibit various semantic and syntactic properties that are distinct from those of PD-DNCs.