Accounting for the Construal of Null Arguments in Korean

Abstract

This paper investigates the construal of null arguments in Korean and Japanese, critically reviewing Abe's (2009, 2014) generalization on strict versus sloppy identity. He proposes that a sloppy identity interpretation of a null argument arises when it is not c-commanded by its antecedent (what Abe terms the anti-c-command requirement); whereas a strict identity interpretation always arises when the null argument is c-commanded by its antecedent. Showing that his generalization is not correct, we revise the generalization as follows: null arguments receive a sloppy identity reading when the constituent containing them, such as VP or TP, is in syntactico-semantic parallelism with that containing their antecedents. Otherwise, null arguments get a strict identity reading. We move on to argue that the null argument c-commanded by their antecedent cannot get a sloppy identity construal because the form-identity reconstruction of the null arguments with their antecedents for the sake of such construal induces a BC (C) violation when the latter c-command the former.