Acceptability and preference in the interpretation of anaphors

The purpose of this paper is to consider how the preference in the interpre tation of anaphors and their distribution properties can interact and be be st explained. To reach the goal, this paper presents the prominence hierarc hy for computing a different degree of preference when there is more than o ne option for anaphor interpretations. This paper also argues that the core ferential possibility between the Korean anaphor caki and its antecedent is determined by the prominence principle, which is stated in terms of the pr ominence hierarchy: caki must be coreferential with a move prominent antece dent only if there exists such an antecedent. Finally, this paper extends i ts proposal to anaphors in other languages such as English, Icelandic, Japa nese, and Chinese.