• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2003

In this article, we investigate some structural properties of head-internal relative clauses in Korean and their development in Korean-speaking children. In this study, we found head-internal relative clauses in Korean has a more limited domain than head-external relative clauses with respect to positions that can be relativized and clause boundaries that the head can move across: in head-internal relative clauses, only a subject or an object can be relativized and doubly embedded clause constitutes a barrier to the movement of the head. We also found that head-internal relative clauses are easier to understand and produce than head-external relative clauses. In addition, we found that head-internal relative clauses emerge earlier than head-external relative clauses in the acquisition of relative clauses in Korean. The preference of young children (aged 4 and 5) for head-internal relative clauses over head-external relative clauses suggests that children like to use head-internal relative clauses at an early developmental stage when they have difficulty in using head-external relative clauses.