ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the SLA literature on reflexives, which are defined as pronominal forms that typically refer back to the subjects of clauses. After introducing some basic properties of reflexives, this chapter presents theoretical analyses on reflexives and SLA theories adopted to study reflexives. Methodological approaches to studying reflexives are also discussed. Research with other populations (adult native speakers, children, and heritage speakers) is briefly synthesized as relevant before focusing on research in SLA. Properties that are often tested in SLA studies of reflexives are locality, orientation, and c-command requirements. Drawing on the extensive research on locality, one major finding is that while most offline SLA studies have found that learners from languages with long-distance (LD) reflexives successfully acquired the locality constraints of locally bound reflexives, learners from languages with only locally bound reflexives find it difficult to acquire LD reflexives in their second language. Possible explanations include L1-transfer, insufficient positive evidence, a universal preference for local interpretations, and the involvement of external interfaces in LD interpretations. Recent online studies also point to L1/L2 qualitative differences. Finally, the chapter lays out several open questions and some directions for future research to tease different explanations or theories apart.
