• Language and Information
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-76
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• 2004

Negative polarity items(NPIs), which function as quantifiers are licensed in a syntactically strict way by negatives, which function as qualifiers, resulting in universal negating interpretations as pairs. We present a proposal to explain the related phenomena, in which the syntax and the semantics are closely related to each other, with Combinatory Categorial Grammar. For this purpose, we first adopt the usual approach to scrambling, but control its overgeneration with the use of markers, taking into account the complex syntactic phenomena involving NPIs and scrambling in Korean. We also propose to utilize polarity intensity as a novel feature, in order to account for the universal negating interpretations when NPIs are combined with negatives. Our proposal also explains the difference in readings when other quantifiers or qualifiers intervene the NPI and the related negatives.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.219-228
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• 2011

Main concern will be put at suggesting an alternative idea about the basic notion of the Extended Projection Principle (henceforth, ECP) which has been slightly changed since the initial appearance of the EPP. The EPP had been dependent on Case and theta-role under the era of the early generative grammar, whereas it was reduced only to the categorial feature [D] under the minimalism. Various data such as Locative Inversion constructions, there-expletive constructions, and sentences related to binding theory will be dealt with to suggest an plausible alternative idea. As a conclusion, it will be attested that the SPEC position of the inflectional clause should be filled with a maximally projected lexical item. This conclusion will be reached by analyzing lots of linguistic data.

• Language and Information
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.39-55
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• 2001

This paper investigates the idiosyncratic understanding of universal quantifiers such as every, each or all by young children at the ages of 4 to 7, and argues that the phenomenon is explicable in terms of the maturation of both the cognitive system and the linguistic system. Evidence for this dual explanation comes from the fact that the visual input, a picture, plays a key role in determining the children's conceptual representation, suggesting the need for the central integration of visual and linguistic elements; and from the fact that a quantifier in the linguistic input has an intrinsic property, i.e. a <+focus> feature. I have tried to explain the nature of the cognitive factors in terms of the function of the central system, suggesting a modified form of Smith & Tsimpli's (1995) yersion of Fodor's (1983) modularity hypothesis. The categorial status of the quantifier in the children's interpretation is considered, focusing on the movement of that quantifier out of its own extended projection to FP. It is claimed that children initially treat quantifiers as modifiers, rather than functional heads, and that the phenomenon of quantifier spreading by children can be attributed to delay in the development of the relevant functional category, i.e., DP (or QP), in language acquisition.