Dependent Marking Parameter: Coordination, Clefting, Fragments and Scrambling in Korean and Japanese

Abstract

The four main chapters of my dissertation flesh out supporting evidence for the claim, in the domain of arguments in fragments, argument cluster coordination, clefting and scrambling. The importance of the existence of case markers is demonstrated, based on the differences between case marked fragments and case-less fragments, regarding case-connectivity and multiplicity. The dependent marking parameter predicts the differences between the two types of fragments. The existence of dependent marker requires mandatory reconstruction of a predicate at LF while bare NPs do not have the requirement. Special ability of Korean/Japanese to put argument chunks of direct object plus indirect object (DO + IO). and subject plus direct object plus direct object (S + DO + IO) in the various constructions including coordination, clefting and scrambling is due to the dependent marking parameter which allows arguments combine without an intervening predicate.