Korean Question Particles Are Pronominals: A Case of Encoding Discourse Participants in the Syntax

This paper investigates the Korean question particles, namely ni, nya, na and ka, and claims that they are in fact pronominals such as you, I, and (s)he that refer to discourse participants in an interrogative context, in particular Hearer. Two pieces of empirical evidence are provided to support the claim. The first is morphological: ni and nya look the same as or very similar to (Korean) pronoun you; and na and ka have the same morphological shape as I and (s)he, respectively. The second has to do with the force of the question particles: ni and nya induce direct force requiring an answer from Hearer, whereas na and ka induce indirect force that does not demand an answer from Hearer. This difference in force between the two groups of particles is shown to follow from analyzing them as pronominals that encode information about who the questions in which they occur are directed to. If a question marked by ni or nya (you) is directed to Hearer, Hearer is required to answer. By contrast, if a question marked by na (I) is directed to Speaker, or one marked by ka (she/he) is directed to a third person, Hearer need not answer the question.