Locality in So Called Sluicing in Korean: Null Argument and Beyond

Abstract

Choi, YoungSik. 2015. Locality in So Called Sluicing in Korean: Null Argument and Beyond. The Journal of Studies in Language 31.2, 497-518. In this paper, I investigate so called sluicing constructions in Korean that involve syntactic islands. I suggest that so called sluicing constructions turn out to be pseudo-sluicing constructions with copular structures that includes a null argument, thus with no island violation triggered quite contrary to appearance. I also argue against the claim that subjacency is a PF constraint and that deletion of the IP including the wh-trace within the island remedies subjacency violation (Fox and Lasnik 2003, among others). The present research on the so called sluicing constructions in Korean is consistent with the standard assumption in the literature that subjacency is a syntactic constraint (Chomsky 1977, 1981, 1986, 1995, 2000, 2001). It also has a non-trivial implication for sluicing constructions in English as well. (Soonchunhyang University)