Korean Clausal Comparatives Revisited

This paper argues that Korean has genuine clausal comparatives which have degree abstraction-structures involved. This paper examines kes- comparatives in Korean which have clausal forms at surface, dividing them into two sub-types: predicative and attributive kes-comparatives. Predicative kes-comparatives have individual- denoting DP structures, getting a phrasal analysis whereas attributive kes- comparatives are ambiguous between degree-denoting CP structures and individual- denoting DP structures, getting either a clausal analysis or a phrasal analysis. Korean is not distinct from English in that they both have clausal comparatives which involve degree abstraction structures. The degree abstraction parameter, proposed by Beck et al. (2004), is not applicable to Korean comparatives.