A Presuppositional Approach to Binding in Korean, with the Focus on Locally Bound Caki

Abstract

This paper attempts to apply a presuppositional account of Binding Condition A to the distribution and interpretation of locally bound caki in Korean. The paper reports that caki can give rise to the strict reading as well as the sloppy reading in the contexts of focus and VP-substitution, contrary to what has been generally assumed in the literature. It then shows that the strict reading is available for caki in focus and VP-substitution, as the binding condition regulating the distribution of caki can be violated in focus alternatives. The paper suggests that the apparent violation of the binding condition in question can be successfully accounted for if the condition is presuppositional in nature as its counterpart in English is claimed to be. In the paper, the person restriction on caki is also discussed, and it is shown that the apparent violation of the person restriction may as well be accounted for under the presuppositional approach.