The Realization and Non-Realization of Korean Nominative and Accusative Case Markers: Focusing on Animacy and Word Order

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing the realization or non-realization of case markers in Korean and to explain their patterns. One of the primary functions of case markers is to distinguish the relationships and roles among arguments in a sentence. From this perspective, if the relationships and functions of arguments are clearly understood, the realization of case markers becomes optional. In other words, when the relationships and roles of arguments can be cognitively inferred, case markers may be optionally realized. Key factors influencing the inference of these relationships and functions include animacy and word order. To verify the impact of these factors on the realization of case markers, various scenarios are analyzed and explained.