Pragmatic and Syntactic Interface Properties in Korean Binding

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of syntactic and pragmatic constraints on the interpretation of Korean reflexives caki ,casin, and cakicasin. We adopt the idea, as suggested by a large body of research (ZribiHertz,1989; Reinhart & Reuland, 1991; Pollard & Sag,1992; Pollard & Xue, 1991) that in many languages, such as Chinese and Korean, syntactic constraints alone cannot be responsible for the interpretation of anaphora. Huang (1994) states that pragmatic aspects constrain the interpretation of reflexives in languages like Chinese and Korean just as syntactic aspects constrain reflexive interpretation in English. This study adds to the growing data on the distribution of Korean anaphora by demonstrating the effect of pragmatic and discourse constraints on Korean binding. Results suggest that each anaphor has its own tendency to which it will allow discourse information to play a role in its interpretation.