Hyman Larry M. Phonology: Theory and Analysis

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975. — 288 p.“This book deals with phonology, the study of the sound systems of language.” So begins this book which, true to its subtitle, is concerned with both phonological theory and descriptive analysis, recognizing and demonstrating that every phonological analysis is dependent on theory.
The author’s main concern is to reveal “how speech sounds structure and function" in the languages of the world. All phonological theories have this as their goal; alternative theories are critically examined in reference to this goal. The basic tenets of the theory of generative phonology as proposed by Chomsky and Halle are set against the background of earlier phonologists like Trubetzkoy, Martinet, Jakobson, Sapir, Pike, and Firth. The book thus illuminates the continuity and the breaks between past and present in phonological theory, providing the reader with the theoretical and practical background necessary to understand and analyze phonological phenomena.
The book’s primary aim is to serve as a textbook for students of linguistics, but it is more than a textbook. The author objectively assesses and summarizes what has been learned through the ages about the sound systems of human language and also reveals some of the gaps in our knowledge. This is not a book written by someone who has learned his phonology from books; it is written by a working phonologist who has himself struggled with and contributed to phonological theory and analysis. The modifications in current phonological theory which he proposes reflect the author’s intimate knowledge of the many languages he has studied. For this reason, the book, while introductory in style and exposition and completely understandable by the novice, will also be of interest to the advanced student and working phonologist.