On the acquisition of pronominal reference. Review of: L. Solan, Pronominal reference: Child language and the theory of grammar

Lawrence Solan's Pronominal Reference is one of the most detailed attempts to relate language acquisition research to current linguistic theory. Solan focuses on the structural relationship between pronouns and their antecedents. A theory of markedness is introduced in which portions of the statement of the restriction prohibiting backward anaphora represent stages of acquisition. Solan presents a series of experiments designed to demonstrate how this staged acquisition process is constrained by innate principles of Universal Grammar. Our review has three parts. First we discuss Solan's theoretical contributions to the study of anaphora. Then we outline his six experiments with 5- to 8-year old children. Finally, we discuss Solan's conclusions and, in some cases, offer alternatives of our own.