A Complement Analysis of the Head Internal Relative Clauses

Abstract

There have been two opposing views on the structure of the so-called head internal relative Construction (HIRC) in Korean/Japanese, i. e. a view that analyzed the HIRC categorially as a nominal projection and functionally as an argument (Kuroda 1992, Watanabe 1992, Hoshi 1996, Jhang 1991/1994, among others) vs. a view that analyzes the HIRC categorially as an adjunct clause and functionally as a non-argument (Murasugi 1994). This paper on the one hand points out several phenomena indicating that Murasugi’s analysis is more viable, while on the other hand proposing a more complex structure than Murasugi’s to account for other facts as well. The no/kes cluse in the HIRC will be analyzed as the complement of a null perception verb whose projection constitutes part of an adjunct clause. (Hanyang University)