Why Does Way "Why" in Korean Lack Quantificational Variability?

Why Does Way "Why" in Korean Lack Quantificational Variability?

  In this paper, I discuss why way "why," unlike other wh-words in Korean, lacks quantificational variability and is used only as an interrogative. Based on the observation that the Q-force of wh-words in Korean changed from interrogative to indeterminate (C.-M. Suh 1987, etc.), I recast the question why way is used only as an interrogative as why way failed to undergo this change in the Q-force of wh-words. My claim is that the Q-force of wh-words in Korean changed from interrogative to indeterminate as the result of a series of historical changes that took place in Korean wh-constructions but that way failed to undergo this change due to its unique structural position as a CP adjunct (Ko 2005). I also show how the explanation I propose for way can shed light on the fact that reason wh-words, cross-linguistically, lack quantificational variability.