Towards a Functional Account of Case Marker Reduction and Coda Neutralization in Korean

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that principles on language's communicative function can uniformly account for various form reduction phenomena n syntax and phonology. Focusing on the case marker reduction and coda neutralization in Korean, we claim that deletion or neutralization is basically triggered by the economy principle of production (Minimize Effort), but monosyllabic elements are exempted from these reduction phenomena because reduction phenomena are also heavily restricted by the optical principle of recognition (Maximize Information). Based on these functional approaches using two antagonistic functional principles, some ellipsis phenomena in Korean and English are also revisited.