ABSTRACT
This chapter argue that: all nonparametric approaches to reflexives have common properties and capture basic correspondences in the data better than the parametric approach does, head movement provides a better account of the properties of reflexives than competing nonmovement analyses, parametric and nonparametric approaches make different predictions about the acquisition of reflexives cross-linguistically. It addresses the acquisition issues connected to long-distance reflexives. The parameter setting approach views the issue of governing category for reflexives as an independent parameter with a number of possible settings. Clearly, the parametric approach simply lists domains and hence makes no predictions about correlations with the categorial status of the reflexive, thus missing out on an important fact. Theories of reflexives should ideally derive the blocking effects from general principles of universal grammar and should also account for the difference among languages without the need for parameters.
