A Note on Plural Markers and Numeral Classifiers in Korean

This study investigates the syntactic and semantic properties of three Korean plural markers: -<italic>huy</italic>, -<italic>ney</italic>, and -<italic>tul</italic>. We argue that each marker syntactically forms its own N-adjunction structure with the preceding N, where N is the head and the marker is a non-head modifier, as described by Wiltschko (2008). Each marker also contributes a distinct semantic function that shifts the extension of the preceding N. We further claim that a numeral classifier has this function only in the so-called classifier-case type numeral classifier construction in Korean, which Choi (2025a) likewise analyzes as an N-adjunction structure. If correct, these claims undermine the major arguments of Park (2022) regarding plural -<italic>tul</italic> and its co-occurrence relationship with numeral classifiers. We reject Park’s appositive-type structural analysis of numeral classifiers and argue that -<italic>tul</italic> can co-occur with a classifier because it functions as a modifier rather than a head.