Extended Focus: Korean Delimiter man

Abstract

The issue we address in this paper is whether the Korean exclusive particle man is a focus marker or a scope marker. We start from the wellknown assumption that it is a focus marker, but also note that there are some cases where man seems to function as a scope marker. An in-depth analysis of some key sentences is provided, with a particular attention to ways to sort out native speakers' intuition. It is concluded that the analysis of man as a focus marker can be extended to accommodate some cases of its apparent role as a scope marker, especially coupled with the idea of 'extended' focus. It is further argued that this conclusion is also confirmed by diverse cases of man-related ambiguity reported in Choe (1996).