Reviewed by Przemysław Czarnecki, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland

This volume presents a collection of fourteen phonological papers authored by internationally recognized linguists to honor the distinguished contemporary scholar John M. Anderson. Anderson’s prominent position in the linguistic arena is indisputable: the broadness of his intellectual achievements is manifested in his prolific writing as well as in the warm critical appraise he has received from his colleagues. Anderson’s interest in linguistics spans nearly all facets of the discipline, from the synchronic and diachronic investigation of phonology, morphology, and syntax, to the exploration of various languages including English, Gothic, Basque, French, and Greek.

The editors of this volume have gathered papers that deal with one area of Anderson’s linguistic research: phonology. These papers represent differing (and in some cases, competing) theories of contemporary phonology, including dependency phonology, government phonology, head-driven phonology, declarative phonology, and optimality theory. Among the contributors are such distinguished and recognized names as Philip Carr, Fran Colman, Mike Davenport, Jacques Durand, Edmund Gussmann, John Harris, Phil Harrison, Patrick Honeybone, Harry van der Hulst, Ken Lodge, April McMahon, Nancy A. Ritter, Sanford A. Schane, and Jørgen Staun. Regardless of their personal impact on the field, each of the contributors focuses to some extent on particular phonological problems that are central to Anderson’s work on phonology and dependency phonology (of which he is a cofounder). These problems concern the structure of phonological representations and address such issues as headhood, dependency, and elements (i.e. phonological primitives). Questions on the phonetic content of phonological primes or the role of derivations in phonological theory are the subject of great controversy among linguists today, and the papers in this volume contribute significantly to the development of the recent phonological discussion. Of particular importance is the wide range of languages used to illustrate certain phonological phenomena. Here, the papers contain data from Old and Modern English, Polish, Yorùbá, Hungarian, High German, Spanish, and Modern Greek.

Producing a collection of papers in honor of a scholar such as Anderson is a task that requires particular diligence on the part of the editors and contributors alike. The editors have succeeded not only in gathering a highly impressive list of contributors but also in compiling a collection of papers that contribute demonstrably to the phonological debate.