Readings in Historical Phonology: Chapters in the Theory of Sound Change Hardcover - 1978

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This book is a collection of writings representing the most important trends in the theory of sound change over the past century. The emphasis of the volume is theoretical; every selection addresses the central questions of how and why the sounds of language change through time. The volume is divided into three sections, chronologically determined, tracing the evolution of the concept of sound change in the various theories of language. Each section contains an introduction in which the selections are discussed individually and in relation to each other.

Section I represents pre-structural 19th-century linguistics. It contains selections from the Neogrammarian school (Paul, Verner, von der Gabelentz), and an early monograph (Kruszewski). Section II presents 20th-century structuralism of various schools; Prague (Jakobson); Geneva (de Saussure); American structuralism (Greenberg, Hoenigswald); and a selection by Andre Matrinet. Section III is concerned with the post-structuralist era, primarily in the United States. In it are contained papers representative of generative grammar (Kiparsky, King, Vennemann); sociolinguistics (Labov); lexical diffusion theory (Wang); and post-generative trends (Anderson, Anttila).

The contents of this volume make is useful as a source book for historical linguists and phonologists, in addition to its primary value as a textbook for courses in historical linguistics at all levels. All selections are in English.

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