On the Syntax and Semantics of Korean Classifier Constructions
Kwang-sup Kim · 생성문법연구 · 2010
There are two types of Korean classifier construction: postnominal classifier constructions and prenominal classifier constructions, and the postnominal classifier constructions are in turn divided into the split constructions and the non-split constructions. This paper is concerned with the syntax and semantics of those Korean classifier constructions. After observing that there are semantic differences between the prenominal and postnominal classifier constructions, I argue that the differences follow from the fact that the prenominal classifiers are NP modifiers, whereas the postnominal classifiers are nomimal predicates taking the common nouns as their Content arguments. Furthermore, I claim that the Content argument can make an appositive relation with the Reference argument, which gives rise to two variants of postnominal classifier construction--the split construction and the non-split construction.