This paper investigates the structure of null argument constructions in Korean. One of the primary points of contention has been whether the interpretation of the null argument construction is achieved through ellipsis or pro. In this paper, I present compelling evidence supporting the ellipsis analysis. First, null arguments yield a sloppy interpretation that can be derived by both ellipsis and pro, but it becomes evident only through the former. Second, null arguments yield a distributive interpretation when the antecedent takes the form of NP + kakkak (binominal each), which is exclusively compatible with the ellipsis analysis. Third, I will present connectivity effects, such as the preservation of certain (morpho)syntactic properties of binominal each (BE) and the reflexive cakicasin ‘oneself’ in null argument constructions. Finally, I will demonstrate that the continuation test, previously considered primary evidence for the pro analysis, is an unreliable method for identifying the structure of null arguments.
1. Introduction
2. Overt Pronouns and Apparent Sloppy Interpretation
3. Distributive Interpretation & Connectivity Effects
4. Is the Continuation Test Reliable? What Does it Really Tell Us?
5. Conclusion
References
(0)
(0)