한국어 유사수문구문의 두 가지 구조와 특정성

Abstract

This paper concerns structural and semantic-informational differences between the merger(M)-type and the sprouting(S)-type of Korean sluicing-like constructions. It focuses on the relevance of an indefinite correlate in the preceding clause to the optionality of a postposition after the wh-phrase in the following clause. It is proposed that kukey ‘it’ is a D-pronoun in the M-type construction, while it is a variable in the S-type construction. Both function as a discourse linker, introducing an indefinite meaning or an incomplete discourse situation of the preceding clause to the subject topic position of the following clause. So the M-type construction constitutes a copular structure, while the S-type construction a truncated cleft structure. In respect of semantic-informational structure, the two types both convey specificational meaning, which is verified through the investigation of subject-honorification data. The predicational behavior of the M-type construction and inversion impossibility of the S-type construction are also explained as phenomena expected from the different properties of the two types.