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The current paper has provided various example sentences that support Lee's (1997) discussion of the long-distance licensing of negative polarity items (NPIs) in Korean from non-finite clauses using the complementizers such as –ki/ko. This paper has also supported Lee's (2024a,b) claim that in Korean, NPIs derived from non-finite embedded clauses, which form a weak CP phase, are licensed by negation in the higher clause. Specifically, when licensed by a negative implicature, the NPI te isang 'any more' must be used in the complement clause of the negative implicature, which was extensively discussed. Theoretically, in non-finite clause boundaries, the CP functions as a weak phase, exempting it from the Phase-Impenetrability Condition (PIC), thereby allowing the NPIs in the subordinate clause to be licensed by the negation in the higher clause. This distinction is crucial because in Korean, long-distance NPI licensing is permissible only when the NPI appears in the infinitival complement, which contrasts with English where NPIs can be licensed across both finite and non-finite clauses. In future research, I plan to explore how multiple NPIs can be licensed from the embedded non-finite clause within the bi-clausal structure.

The following are revealed regarding the correspondence relationship, which primarily exists between the presence of factivity in O case complements and the complementizers NO and KOTO in modern Japanese. a. The presence or absence of factivity in O case complements and the selection of NO or KOTO complementizers is not a one-to-one relationship; however, under certain conditions, a correlation exists between the allowance of the NO complement and complement factivity. b. The correlation is as follows: generally, higher tolerance of NO in a tensed complement allowing KOTO results in a stronger factive interpretation of the complement. Based on the behavior related to the above, it is therefore appropriate to separate the predicates into four types as follows. Type A :represented by “kateisuru(suppose)” Type B: represented by “noberu(state,claim)” Type C :represented by “tsutaeru(tell,report)” Type D: represented by “zannengaru(regret)” Type D, Type C, Type B and Type A bring the higher factive interpretation to complement proposition in that order, in parallel, NO in type D, Type C, Type B and Type A Indicates a higher acceptability in that order.

This paper examines the long-standing issue of syntactic projection/ labeling in free relatives (FRs) of English. Pointing out some drawbacks on Chomsky’s (2013) recent labeling analysis of FRs, we suggest that labeling of FRs can be accounted for more effectively on a par with his (2013) analysis of coordinate structure. Specifically, both the morphologically simple elements that head FRs, such as what, where, when, and the morphologically complex -ever forms like whoever, serve the ambiguous role of relative head and relative operator. They thus determine the label of the resulting construction they build merging with the following FR-forming complementizer. In essence, this complementizer in FRs behaves like Conj, which as Chomsky suggests is ‘not available as a label,’ and therefore the moved element occupying its Spec position in FRs projects itself up to the resulting construction.

The aim of this paper is to explicate the categorial status of whether. In current generative syntax, whether is classified either as a complementizer or as an interrogative adverb. I have shown that both analyses are untenable, considering that they can account for neither the differences between whether and if nor the differences between whether and the other wh-expressions. As an alternative, I proposed a new analysis in which whether is characterized as a QP and taken to be base-generated in Spec-CP. These two assumptions concerning the categorial status of whether have been shown to be sufficient to account for its syntactic behavior.

This paper examined the syntactic properties of kes in Korean head-internal relative clause (HiRC) construction, which is regarded as a subtype of kes construction. While focusing on the grammatical characteristics of kes found in the HiRC construction, I argued against the previous analyses in which kes is treated as either complementizer or nominalizer. Instead, I suggested that kes can be analyzed as a pronominal, which is semantically associated with the semantic head of a HiRC. Base on the syntactic status of kes, I also proposed the internal structure of Korean HiRC construction in which the Korean HiRC is an NP-adjunction adjoined to kes, an external head of the relative clause. Under my proposed structure, kes is anaphoric in the sense that it is semantically linked to the semantic head of the HiRC. The definiteness effect of the HiRC construction can be captured by the feature [+def] dominated by D0 (i.e. a null head of DP), rather than kes or the semantic head of HiRC. My analysis of kes as an anaphoric pronominal has certain theoretical and empirical advantages. For example, it can account for the nominal properties of kes, which are not observed in any functional categories such as complementizer and nominalizer. And it can explain the semantic anaphoricity of kes well without provoking any theoretical problem.

The aim of this paper is to investigate syntactic features which are carried by the finite complementizer þæt>þat>that and the non-finite complementizer for from diachronic perspective. Given that þæt/þat wasn't followed by a focalized or topicalized element, but permitted wh-word＋þæt/þat sequence from an embedded clause, þæt/þat had the finiteness feature of φ-features and a tense feature that was agreed with the finite feature of a finite verb in OE and EME. On the other hand, considering that that has been followed by a focalized or topicalized element in the embedded clause and φ-features and a tense feature in C has been inherited to T from LME onward PDE, that came to carry a declarative force feature rather than a finiteness feature from that time on. Meanwhile, the prepositional complementizer for began to be added to the to＋N/V＋enne to strengthen the grammatical function of to from EME, and this phrase has developed into an infinitival verb phrase for＋to＋V＋(O). As inflections were lost, V-2 was reanalyzed, and OV was reordered as VO, the for＋to＋V＋(O) sequence was changed into an infinitival verb clause and ultimately transformed into for＋Osubj＋to＋V in LME. With such restructuring of an infinitival verb clause, a non-finite future feature which was inherently carried by for came to be inherited to the infinitive marker to that started denoting an unrealized future tense ever since.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the novel types of subjunctive complementizer nka in Korean. Among the two types of interrogative complementizer variants of the ordinary interrogative complementizer ci and the modalized interrogative complementizer nka, we argue that nka is a lexicalized form of the epistemic subjunctive mood exponent appearing in subordinator C. Specifically, we show that the semantic function of nka creates epistemic weakening in subjective doxastic space and expresses speaker/subject’s epistemic uncertainty on the embedded question. Our claim will be further supported by corpus study by comparing different types of predicates selecting nka and/or ci. The theoretical implication of current study is two-folds: First, in Korean, interrogative can be another prerequisite of subjunctivity. Second, for the analysis of interrogative subjunctive, the inquisitive-based theory is untenable but nonveridicality can provide the general theory.

Yu, Chong-taek, “Missing Contents after Spell-Out.” Studies on English Language & Literature. 35.4(2009): 307-329. This paper proposes an assumption on a complementizer (comp) that/Φthat,: a comp that/φthat merges externally with a head C in a main clause or in an embedded one, either having its phonetic contents (PC) but missing its semantic contents (SC) or missing both its PC and SC after Spell-Out. This paper also proposes an assumption on a comp for/Φfor: a comp for/φfor merges externally with a head C in an infinitival clause, either having its PC but missing its SC or missing both its PC and SC after Spell-Out. Besides, a prepositional link (PL) to/Φto has either its PC but misses its SC or misses both its PC and SC except for in the passive voice. Finally, this paper argues that lexical items such as a Φpreposition which merges externally with a bare-NP adverb or a gerund, and a common imperative subject you miss their PC but still have their SC after Spell-Out in present-day English. (Howon University)

Scrambling in Korean and Japanese has long been treated as an instance of movement, in an attempt to make all the languages share the same configuration in a deep level. In the paper, I claim that English and Korean/Japanese use different mode of syntactic combination instead of having the same configuration. While predicates select arguments in English, arguments select predicates in Korean and Japanese. The information of case markers helps them to find an appropriate predicate. The argument centered combination allow free word order in those languages. The order between arguments does not affect selection of a predicate. The subject-object order and the object-subject order selects the same ranges of predicates; transitive or ditransitive predicates. Long scrambling uses the information of the complementizer ko. It fills the semantic value(s) of a direct object, an indirect object, or both of them when its clause misses them, using the semantic value(s) of argument(s) in the left.

The aim of this study is to analyze the complementizer that-deletion in embedded complement clauses in English. This paper is concerned with the alternation between the overt that-complementizer and the zero complementizer by the complementizer deletion (C-deletion or that-deletion) in constructions with a nominal complement that-clause, i.e. [VP Verb [CP that-TP]]. In this paper, we compare that-complementation and zero-complementation in a diachronic grammaticalization and corpus, and show that the complementizer that has its origin in pronouns diachronically and finally becomes to form a C-head of the functional category CP. We provide the syntactic and semantic explanation on the optionality of that-deletion while answering the question why and how that-deletion is getting increasing in use especially with the verb, think, in the informal contexts. With the major causes for the currently increasing use of that-deletion, we are concerned with the contexts in which the overt complementizers or the covert complementizers are preferred.

This paper aims to account for the distribution of the null complementizer(null C) in Spanish. Although the presence of the complementizer que is basically obligatory in this language, certain classes of verbs may allow the omission of que in complement position. However, this is not always the case when an overt lexical element appears preverbally. In addition, when complement clauses appear in non-canonical positions like topicalized position, the omission of que is also disallowed. Thus, in this paper I try to provide an account of why que can be omitted in some environments and cannot in other environments. For this, I critically review Brovetto’s(2002) analysis of the null C in Spanish. I further discuss whether some analyses of the English null C can be extended to Spanish. I argue that these analyses are not satisfactory enough to deal with Spanish data. By modifying Bošković & Lasnik’s(2003) PF-Merger analysis, I propose that the Spanish null C is a PF-prefix: it must attach to a verb on its right under adjacency. I show that many examples can be accommodated by this proposal. I further show that the obligatory subject-verb inversion in Spanish wh-questions receives a new account under my proposal.

The purpose of this study is to explore the properties of Spanish clauses without complementizer ‘que’ and provide an appropriate analysis for them. In this paper, I have proposed a novel analysis of Spanish complementizerless clauses, based on ‘dephasing hypothesis’ proposed by Chomsky(2015). It is analyzed that the omission of complementizer ‘que’ is the result of T to C movement to check [irrealis] feature of C. Specifically, it is assumed that the structure made by T to C movement is [T [T C]], in which the phase head C becomes invisible to other computational operations and thus may not be spelled out in PF. (cf. Halle & Marantz 1993; Embick & Noyer 2007). I have also applied the external pair-merge hypothesis of Epstein, Kitahara & Seely (2016) to explain the construction with complementizer ‘que’. That is, it is assumed that the phase head C, before merging with TP, externally merges with a copy of T and forms the [C [C T]] structure in C position. This analysis not only enables the [irrealis] feature of C to be checked without T to C movement, but also can explain why the complementizer ‘que’ is spelled out in the [C [C T]] structure.

This paper aims to account for the distribution of the null complementizer(null C) in Spanish. Although the presence of the complementizer que is basically obligatory in this language, certain classes of verbs may allow the omission of que in complement position. However, this is not always the case when an overt lexical element appears preverbally. In addition, when complement clauses appear in non-canonical positions like topicalized position, the omission of que is also disallowed. Thus, in this paper I try to provide an account of why que can be omitted in some environments and cannot in other environments. For this, I critically review Brovetto’s(2002) analysis of the null C in Spanish. I further discuss whether some analyses of the English null C can be extended to Spanish. I argue that these analyses are not satisfactory enough to deal with Spanish data. By modifying Bo?kovi? & Lasnik’s(2003) PF-Merger analysis, I propose that the Spanish null C is a PF-prefix: it must attach to a verb on its right under adjacency. I show that many examples can be accommodated by this proposal. I further show that the obligatory subject-verb inversion in Spanish wh-questions receives a new account under my proposal.

The ECP account for the distribution of the English null complementizer in that-less clauses does not work, because the notion of government is eliminated in the minimalist framework. Several attempts have been made to explain the distribution of the null complementizer in English, without appealing to the notion of government. This article is an attempt to explain the distribution of null complementizers with the PF approach, assuming that a null com- plementizer is a kind of clitic, which is attached to the preceding host and that the intonational phrase boundary blocks cliticization, even though the null clitic and the preceding host are adjacent. In this paper, I also show the interaction of the presence of an adjunct and cliticization. With the presence of an adjunct, intonational phrasings could change and this gives an effect on the cliticization of a null complementizer.

This paper offers a simple novel approach to the distributions of the declarative Comp that and its null counterpart, the null C, in English. It suggests that the overt Comp that is a PF realization of the null C and that the null C must be adjacent to the embedded subject as well as to the matrix predicate. Behind this suggestion lies a core idea--agreement appears on C, thereby agreeing with the subject; when the subject is extracted through Spec of CP, the agreement is suppressed and thus agreement emergence as that fails to be obtained. This approach will be shown to account for many intriguing contrasts in the CP area, for example, different distributions between the Comp that and the null C, (anti-)that-trace effects, the null C without adjacency.