EP-분리접근법에 의거한 비인칭 it 연구

The syntax of impersonal it under the EP-splitting Approach

In this paper, assuming the EP hypothesis in Choe (2007a,b) which suggests that a regular nominal expression is an EP whose head E selects a DP and whose Spec may be occupied by a (null or overt) deictic pronominal, I entertain a splitting approach to impersonal it (which I call EP-splitting approach) to explain the syntax of impersonal it. The EP-splitting approach to impersonal it I suggest here claims: First, when impersonal it is associated with a clause, it should be analyzed as the deictic element of a complex DP which is selected by E and whose lexical head (null noun) selects a clause. Second, impersonal it is split from the complex noun phrase EP via raising for a Case reason. During the discussion, I discuss empirical data to show that the EP-splitting approach is empirically (and theoretically) superior to previous splitting and non-splitting approaches.