This paper examines that distributional properties of three categories of NP modifiers -color, nationality, and material- in Koren and suggests that these NP modifiers show the peculiar behaviors in the domain of modification depending on their morphology. On a par with Watanabe’s (2012) analysis, in particular, I propose in this paper that the class of adjectives that express nationality and material is absent in Korean and that modifiers that are used as nationality and material adjectives are nouns like Japanese. Regarding color adjectives, also, uniquely they can be divided into two types in their modifier form: one is the type affixed with RRC (Reduced Relative Clause) marker -n and the other is the nominal form like nationality and material modifiers. Under morpho-syntactic perspective, more significantly, I address the intriguing issue that morphological variants of these NP modifiers combined with certain morphemes have a great effect on word order restriction, and this phenomenon is discussed in relation to Pronoun-Noun Constructions (PNCs). Building on the fact verified and supported by a great deal of empirical evidence, I argue that word order restriction of Korean NP modifiers can be flexible depending on the absence/presence of their morphological variation.
1. Introduction
2. Previous Studies
3. NP Modifiers and Their Morphology in Korean
4. Conclusion