Since the inception of generative grammar, Korean Exceptional Case Marking (ECM) constructions have received much attention. Among research topics on these constructions, the surface position of the accusative-marked ECM subjects has been the hotly debated topic. One school of thoughts argue that they are base-generated in the embedded CP and move to the matrix CP. The other claims that they are generated in the matrix CP as matrix objects. Each analysis supports its own analysis using embedded CP fronting. In this squib, we present a novel asymmetry – embedded CP fronting is allowed when the matrix predicate is regular verb mit- ‘believe’, while it is not when the matrix clause is verbal noun sayngkak ‘think’. Based on this, we propose that there are two types of ECM structures. To be specific, the verbal domain structure of sayngkak differs from that of the mit- from the perspective of Chomsky’s (2015) labeling algorithm – the former shows de-phasing (i.e., phase diminishment), while the latter does not. This proposal, combined with Hiraiwa’s (2010) analysis of PBC effects, can successfully account for the aforementioned embedded CP fronting asymmetry under the SOR approach.
1. Introduction
2. Assumptions
3. Analysis
4. Concluding remarks