On the pragmatic nature of empty nominal pro in Korean null object constructions: A Relevance account

Abstract

In this paper I argue that the empty nominal pro used in the Korean null object constructions is semantically indeterminate and its content, being controlled in discourse, is recovered through inferential processes called enrichment. It will be shown within the framework of Relevance Theory which draws a distinction between what is coded and what is inferred. By reanalyzing Ahn and Cho’s (2012a) previous explicature analysis of a null object construction whose pair of the construction contains the NPI amwuto ‘anybody,’ this paper argues that there is nothing semantically encoded in the pro used in the null object constructions. It also gives a Relevance account of how such sloppy-like and strict readings are inferentially derived.