한국어의 “명사+조사” 구성의 구조

The Structure of a Noun+Particle Sequence in Korean

  A popular view on the structure of an N+P(article) sequence in Korean is that a P forms a syntactic head. To see whether this view can be maintained, I examine the three subclasses of a P: a Structural Case (SC) particle, a Semantic Case (SemC) particle and a delimiter (Del). I first argue that an SC particle cannot be a syntactic head such as a D(eterminer), given that it is a morphological realization of abstract Case in Korean. Adapting Y.-H. Kim (1999), I then argue that there are two different types of a SemC particle. One, being a realization of theta roles assigned by a predicate, forms a base-generated X？-adjunction structure together with a preceding N, which means that a sequence of N+P eventually forms an NP or a DP, but not a PP (Postpositional Phrase). The other, having its own lexical meaning, forms a PP. Finally, following K. Choi (1996), I claim that a sequence of N+Del forms a base-generated X？-adjunction structure.