• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.74-82
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• 2022

The purpose of this paper is to provide a multi-modular account of double accusative constructions in Korean in the framework of Autolexical Grammar. The grammar views syntactic, semantic, and morphological structures of sentences as modules which are generated simultaneously and independently. Unlike syntactocentric theories, this paper analyzes semantic characteristics of double accusatives through function-argument (F/A) structure along with roles structure (RS) and information structure (IS). In F/A structure of double accusatives, the first accusative becomes an argument of a predicate, unlike the possessive, which is an argument of a relational noun. Furthermore, the first accusative of double accusatives takes the role of patient in RS, which allows it to become the subject of a passive sentence. On the other hand, the second accusative, which is originally the possessee, becomes a focal area in IS. Therefore, the purpose of double accusatives is twofold: one is to turn the possessor into an independent argument of a predicate which takes patient role, and the other is to turn the possessee into a focus. Such semantic characteristics of double accusatives can be expressed by means of multi-dimensional structures of F/A structure, RS, and IS of Autolexical Grammar, which allows an integrated account of the phenomenon.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.338-343
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• 2020

This paper provides a semantic account of double nominative constructions in the framework of Autolexical Grammar, which views syntax, semantics, morphology, and other language components as modules generated simultaneously and independently. Some syntactocentric models in the past analyzed double nominatives as a result of possessor raising, ECM or incorporation. This paper provides a semantic explication of double nominatives through function-argument (F/A) structure of internal possession and external possession. The possessum used in double nominatives is a relational noun which takes a possessor as its argument in F/A structure. If the possessor directly combines with the relational noun, then internal possession is generated. If the possessor is a gap in F/A structure, then the argument which is coreferential with the gap combines later with the predicate, resulting in external possession, in which the possessor is in the nominative case. Unlike internal possession, the F/A structure of external possession structurally shows that the sentence is predicated of the possessor.