On the Long-distance Scrambling/Phonological Suppression of Adjuncts in Korean

Abstract

This paper examines the syntactic aspects of adjuncts in Korean, particularly when they undergo long-distance scrambling or phonological suppression. It is noted that, unlike argument elements, though apparently distantly scrambled, they cannot be reconstructed into downward embedded clauses. It is also noted that not all adjuncts but non-nominal manner or reason adverbials are disallowed from being phonologically suppressed in the structural environments where arguments in general are allowed to be phonologically null. However, the otherwise illegal reconstruction or recovery of distantly-displaced or phonologically silent adjuncts is made successful as part of the corresponding process for argumental elements that they adjoin to. In essence, we attribute the argument vs. adjunct distinction to the labeling processing that arguments and adjuncts enter into in different ways.