Partitive descriptions in Korean

Abstract

This paper examines Korean partitive constructions to investigate the typology of the partitive structure. In Korean, a quantifier precedes the nominal in a non-partitive, but it follows the nominal in a partitive. The relative order between a quantifier and its associated nominal indicates that a quantifier in Korean partitive does not function as a NP adjunct but takes a DP as its argument. I argue that Korean postnominal (floating) quantifier constructions can be interpreted as partitives or pseudo-partitives/quantitatives because a postnominal (floating) quantifier denoting a part-of relation can occur with a kind-denoting DP as well as a definite DP. I also propose that a quantifier denoting a part-of relation is associated with the argument of a verb via composition with a verbal predicate in the floating quantifier construction. This approach can provide an account for several idiosyncratic properties of floating quantifier constructions, which are difficult to capture under the assumption that a floating quantifier construction is derived by moving a quantifier away from its associated nominal.

Keywords

• partitives
• pseudo-partitives
• floating quantifiers
• classifier languages