- Email: [email protected]
Introducción a la historia de la lengua española
262
Revwws
about the individual contributions, both collectively and separately, and 1 feel fairly gloomy about the picture of syntax presented here. One o f the most worrying things, in my opinion, is the shortage of good analyses which make one feel that the analyst has really done his job well. Far too many contributors offer general principles which may or may not make sense, but have nothing much to offer when it comes to analysis, especially when it comes to all those boring little details which we can't just wish away. I cannot believe either that a good theory or framework should lead to bad analyses, or that a linguist who can produce the latter is likely to produce the former. We must all try harder, because there is surely nothing inevitable about this state of affairs. And one obvious direction in which we could concentrate our eftbrts (including our teaching) is towards becoming better at learning from each other, which may be one of the hardest challenges facing us at the moment.
References
Berry, M., 1975. An introduction to systemic linguistics. 2 vols. London: Batsford. Bresnan, J., 1978. A realistic transformational grammar. In : M. Halle et al. (eds.), Linguistic theory and psychological reality, 1-59. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press. Dik, S., 1978. Functional grammar. Amsterdam: North-Holland. Gazdar, G., 1981. Unbounded dependencies and coordinate structure. Linguistic lnquirv 12, 155-184. Halliday, M. A. K., 1970. Language structure and language function. In: J. Lyons (ed.), New horizons in linguistics, 140-165. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Hudson, R.A., forthcoming. Word grammar. Oxford: Blackwell. Kac, M., 1978. Corepresentation of grammatical structure. London : Croom Helm. Starosta, S., 1978. The one per sent solution. In: W. Abraham (ed.), Valence, semantic case and grammatical relation, 459-576. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Starosta, S., 1979. The end of phrase-structure as we know it. University of Hawaii Working Papers in Linguistics 11(1), 59-76. Stockwell, R.P., P. Schachter, B.H. Partee, 1973. The major syntactic structures of English. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Melvyn C. Resnick, Introducci6n a la historia de la lengua espa~ola. Georgetown Univ. Press, Washington, D.C.r 1981. xii, 203 pp. $8.95. Reviewed by: Frank Nuessel, Univ. of Louisville, Dept. of Classical and Modern Languages, Louisville, K Y 40292, USA. Comprehensive is the most appropriate term to describe this book. The interspersion of rhetorical questions throughout the seven units, the introduction of new and important concepts and terminology in large capitals, the inclusion of specific
Reviews
263
phonological, morphological and word formation practices and subsequent answers for these directed exercises (pp. 158-163), provocative content questions at the end of each chapter, and a final chrestomathy (pp. 164-185) of selected passages from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries all make this book a pedagogical grammar comparable to Canfield and Davis' (1975) textbook. At the same time, the highly synthetic nature of this fact-filled text, the broad historical spectrum of the Spanish language with its numerous regional varieties, thoroughly documented notes and a comprehensive bibliography (pp. 186-203) remind the reader of other outstanding though more complete discursive treatises on the diachronic aspects of this language (Entwistle 1936; Lapesa 1980; Mateos M. 1974; Men6ndez Pidal 1965; Spaulding 1943). At this point, a brief review of the contents of the seven individual sections is in order. Chapter 1 ('Historical Introduction', pp. 1-11) provides an overview of the place of Spanish language within the scheme of world languages (Indo-European, Neo-Latin or Romance). A chronological "presentation of the formation of Spanish together with major foreign linguistic influences (3000 B.C.-A.D. 1492) is sketched. Excellent charts and maps, a lucid prose style and clear and concise explanations combine to produce an eminently legible and comprehensive text. Chapter 2 ('Foreign Influences', pp. 12-18) specifies the conventional non-Latin lexical influences on Spanish: Celtiberian, Celtic, Basque, Germanic and Arabic. In the realm ofonomastics, toponyms and anthroponyms are discussed and exemplified. A relatively short discussion about the so-called substratum theory ensues. Resnick (henceforth R.) fails, however, to take a firm position on this polemical topic. 1 In the next chapter ('Some Details', pp. 19-29), a brief sketch of Latin phonology and prosody is presented. The notions of learned, semi-learned and popular lexical items are discussed and exemplified. Many of the examples are fresh and therefore interesting. The fourth chapter ('From Latin to Spanish: Phonology', pp. 30-78) is the longest of the entire book. Again, R.'s treatment is thorough and accurate, albeit routine. The illustrative data are refreshing because they are not repetitions of the standard fare found in many other introductory texts. R.'s approach to the Latin-Hispanic phonological changes is in a traditional philological or structuralist format. Much of this chapter consists of a series of item and process statements 2 which lack the rigorous (hence empirical) formalism of generative phonological rules such as those found in Hartman (1974) or Otero (1971, 1976). Furthermore, it is unfortunate that R. has not given any consideration to the computational analyses of Spanish and the Romance languages that are beginning to appear (Burton-Hunter 1976; Eastlack 1977; Hartman 1981, 1982; cf. also Keil 1974). Innovative applications of computer software are taking place that will soon revolutionize the teaching of historical linguistics. Such ancillary programs used in conjunction with this text would enhance its instructional efficiency and effectiveness considerably. Chapter 5 ('Grammatical Changes', pp. 79-108) provides an accurate, succinct and
264
Reviews
established explanation for the transformation of Latin from a synthetic to an analytic syntactic system (loss of postpositional case distinctions conditioned by various phonological modifications and a consequent reliance on prepositions and word order to express grammatical relations). Once more the examples are fresh and original. The following chapter ('History and Dialectology', pp. 109-132) is especially wellconceived. R. (1975) has already established himself as a recognized authority in the field of Latin American dialectology. This chapter demonstrates that expertise convincingly. R. furthermore proves his knowledge of generative grammatical theory in this section in his brief mentions of Harris's (1969) explanation of the sixteenthcentury Spanish sibilant shift and Foley's (1977) hierarchy of phonological strength applied to intervocalic stop consonants. Despite these brief references to current linguistics theory, R. chooses, in general, to employ a more traditional exposition of the facts. Finally, an exceptional presentation of the concept of phonological restructuring appears in this chapter (pp. 118-119). In the area of syntax, R. provides an excellent syntactic example of 'push chains' and 'drag chains' (cf. Martinet 1955; King 1969). The last chapter ('Lexical Expansion', pp. 133-156) treats the impact of native American languages (Arawak, Carib, Nahuatl, Quechua, Aymara, Araucanian and Tupi-Guarani). Other more recent foreign influences (Portuguese, French, Italian, Occitan and English) are discussed in order to exemplify direct borrowings, caiques and semantic shifts. Finally, productive and non-productive word formation patterns are presented. In his prologue (p. xi), R. states that the purpose of this book is ",.. to be a minimum introduction to the internal and external history of the Spanish language. It presents the development of the language in terms of its Latin origins and the foreign influences that have contributed to its formation [translation mine, F.N.]". The extent to which the author has achieved his stated objectives is one way to measure a book's success. R., in fact, manages to attain his goals rather easily. Furthermore, R.'s scholarship is accurate, precise and comprehensible. R. has a true facility for clear , succinct and intelligible explanations of difficult concepts. The author's virtual avoidance of the several transformational generative accounts of historical changes in Spanish in favor of the more conventional philological discussions may be problematic for some linguists. The text fills a recognized gap in the curriculum because it provides a current synthesis of information on Hispanic historical linguistics in a well-written format.
Notes
1 Classical evidence against a substratum influence on Spanish phonology may be found in Elcock (1960: 181) and the references cited in note 2. The fact that such sound changes as f > h may be found throughout Romania and not exclusively in Northeastern Spain is an argument against this hypothesis.
Reviews
265
2 To a certain extent, R.'s approach is similar to Donegan and Stampe's (1979) view of phonology as inventories of processes (cf. Zwicky 1982 : 877).
References
Burton-Hunter, S. K., 1976. Romance etymology: A computerized model. Computers and the Humanities 10, 217-220. Canfield, D. Lincoln, J. Cary Davis, 1975. An introduction to Romance linguistics. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. Press. Donegan, Patricia J., David Stampe, 1979. The study of natural phonology. In: Daniel A. Dinnsen (ed.), Current approaches to phonological theory, 126--173. Bloomington and London: Indiana Univ. Press. Eastlack, C. L., 1977. lberochange: A program to simulate systematic sound change in IberoRomance. Computers and the Humanities 11, 81-88. Entwistle, W.J., 1936. The Spanish language together with Portuguese, Catalan and Basque. London: Faber and Faber. Foley, James W., 1977. Foundations of theoretical phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. Grandgent, Charles H., 1962. An introduction to vulgar Latin. New York: Hafner Publishing Company. Hall, Robert A., Jr., 1974. External history of the Romance languages. New York : American Elsevier Publishing Company. Harris, James W., 1969. Spanish phonology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1974. An outline of Spanish historical phonology, Papers in Linguistics 7, 123-191. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1981. A universal alphabet for experiments in comparative phonology. Computers and the Humanities 15, 75-82. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1982 (MS). A computer model of Spanish historical sound change. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. KeiI, G.C., 1974. Narrow phonetic transcription on the computer: Taking the phone off the hook. Computers and the Humanities 8, 217-229. King, Robert D., 1969. Historical linguistics and generative grammar. Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice-Hall. Lapesa, Rafael, 1980. Historia de la lengua espafiola. Madrid: Gredos. Martinet, Andr6, 1955. I~conomie des changements phon6tiques. Berne: A. Francke. Mateos M., Agustln, 1974. Etimologlas latinas del espahol. 14th ed. M6xico, D.F., M6xico: Editorial Esfinge. Men~ndez Pidal, Ram6n, 1965. Manual de gram~itica hist6rica espafiola. 6th ed. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. Otero, Carlos-Peregrin, 1976. Evoluci6n y revoluci6n en romance. Vol. 2. Barcelona: Seix Barral. Otero, Carlos-Peregrin, 1971. Evoluci6n y revoluci6n en romance. Vol. 2. Barcelona: Seix Barral. Posner, Rebecca, 1966. The Romance languages: A linguistic introduction. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
266
Rev~n~
Resnick, Melvyn C., 1975. Phonological variants and dialect differences in Latin American Spanish. The Hague: Mouton. Spaulding, Robert K., 1943. How Spanish grew. Berkeley, CA : Univ. of California Press. Zwicky, Arnold M., 1982. Review of Daniel A. Dinnsen (ed.), 1979. Current issues in phonological theory. Bloomington and London: Indiana Univ. Press. Language 58, 873-889.
Alexander Issatschenko, Geschichte der russischen Sprache. 1. Band: Von den Anf,ingen bis zum Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts (Slavica). Carl Winter, Heidelberg, 1980. 348 S. DM 132 (brosch.)/150 (geb.). Reviewed by: Herbert Galton, Soviet East-European Studies, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Diese Besprechung wird nicht Issatschenkos (Isa6enko, kurz: I.) Anordnung des Buches folgen, welche chronologisch ist, wie es sich for die Geschichte einer Sprache ziemt. Dies aus dem kurz hier vorwegzunehmenden Grunde, dass mit all seiner historischen Gliederung das Buch in zwei Teile zerfallt, welche untereinander nicht sehr innig zusammenh~ingen, und zwischen denen eine Liicke klafft. Es besteht n~imlich einerseits aus diachronischer Lautlehre und andererseits aus dem, was man gemeiniglich ~iussere Sprachgeschichte zu nennen pflegt - einer IJbersicht der Entwicklung der in der Literatur, aber auch zu allen m6glichen anderen Zwecken schriftlich niedergelegten Formen der Sprache, gegen einen sehr reichlich ausgestatteten Hintergrund der Geschichte Russlands, ja in gewissem Ausmass der politischen und Geistesgeschichte Europas. Bis dereinst marxistische oder andere Historiker einen Zusammenhang zwischen der Entwicklung der Sprachlaute und den Schicksalen eines Volkes auffinden m6gen (von allf~illigen offenkundigen Adstratwirkungen abgesehen), bleiben diese Aspekte voneinander getrennt, und sollen hier auch so behandelt werden. Ihre gemeinsame Bearbeitung in 6inem Buche, noch dazu aus der Feder eines Einzelnen, stellt gewiss ein Novum dar, das geh6rig gew~irdigt werden soil, bei aller Meinungsverschiedenheit im Einzelnen. Dabei liegt I.'s Schwerpunkt auf der erw~ihnten ausseren Sprachgeschichte, wit wollen aber unsere Kritik mit der Lautgeschichte beginnen und uns dann h6heren Sprachebenen zuwenden, mit dem Abschluss in der ~iusseren Geschichte des Russischen. Der erste Hinweis auf das urslavische Lautsystem erfolgt auf S. 14, wo unter anderem das Zeichen ~ eingef'tihrt wird, ohne irgend eine Erkl~irung dessen, was man sich im Ursl. darunter etwa vorzustellen hat, abgesehen davon, dass seine palatalisierende Wirkung auf vorangehende Velare erw~hnt wird. Es kann nicht genug betont werden, dass die Verwendung des Graphems ~ in der slav. Lautgeschichte von zweifelhaftem Wert ist. An und for sich geht es auf die b6hmische Rechtschreibungsreform des Jan Hus (gest. 1415) zuriick, w~ihrend ihm im heutigen (~echischen kein bestimmter
Revwws
about the individual contributions, both collectively and separately, and 1 feel fairly gloomy about the picture of syntax presented here. One o f the most worrying things, in my opinion, is the shortage of good analyses which make one feel that the analyst has really done his job well. Far too many contributors offer general principles which may or may not make sense, but have nothing much to offer when it comes to analysis, especially when it comes to all those boring little details which we can't just wish away. I cannot believe either that a good theory or framework should lead to bad analyses, or that a linguist who can produce the latter is likely to produce the former. We must all try harder, because there is surely nothing inevitable about this state of affairs. And one obvious direction in which we could concentrate our eftbrts (including our teaching) is towards becoming better at learning from each other, which may be one of the hardest challenges facing us at the moment.
References
Berry, M., 1975. An introduction to systemic linguistics. 2 vols. London: Batsford. Bresnan, J., 1978. A realistic transformational grammar. In : M. Halle et al. (eds.), Linguistic theory and psychological reality, 1-59. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press. Dik, S., 1978. Functional grammar. Amsterdam: North-Holland. Gazdar, G., 1981. Unbounded dependencies and coordinate structure. Linguistic lnquirv 12, 155-184. Halliday, M. A. K., 1970. Language structure and language function. In: J. Lyons (ed.), New horizons in linguistics, 140-165. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Hudson, R.A., forthcoming. Word grammar. Oxford: Blackwell. Kac, M., 1978. Corepresentation of grammatical structure. London : Croom Helm. Starosta, S., 1978. The one per sent solution. In: W. Abraham (ed.), Valence, semantic case and grammatical relation, 459-576. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Starosta, S., 1979. The end of phrase-structure as we know it. University of Hawaii Working Papers in Linguistics 11(1), 59-76. Stockwell, R.P., P. Schachter, B.H. Partee, 1973. The major syntactic structures of English. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Melvyn C. Resnick, Introducci6n a la historia de la lengua espa~ola. Georgetown Univ. Press, Washington, D.C.r 1981. xii, 203 pp. $8.95. Reviewed by: Frank Nuessel, Univ. of Louisville, Dept. of Classical and Modern Languages, Louisville, K Y 40292, USA. Comprehensive is the most appropriate term to describe this book. The interspersion of rhetorical questions throughout the seven units, the introduction of new and important concepts and terminology in large capitals, the inclusion of specific
Reviews
263
phonological, morphological and word formation practices and subsequent answers for these directed exercises (pp. 158-163), provocative content questions at the end of each chapter, and a final chrestomathy (pp. 164-185) of selected passages from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries all make this book a pedagogical grammar comparable to Canfield and Davis' (1975) textbook. At the same time, the highly synthetic nature of this fact-filled text, the broad historical spectrum of the Spanish language with its numerous regional varieties, thoroughly documented notes and a comprehensive bibliography (pp. 186-203) remind the reader of other outstanding though more complete discursive treatises on the diachronic aspects of this language (Entwistle 1936; Lapesa 1980; Mateos M. 1974; Men6ndez Pidal 1965; Spaulding 1943). At this point, a brief review of the contents of the seven individual sections is in order. Chapter 1 ('Historical Introduction', pp. 1-11) provides an overview of the place of Spanish language within the scheme of world languages (Indo-European, Neo-Latin or Romance). A chronological "presentation of the formation of Spanish together with major foreign linguistic influences (3000 B.C.-A.D. 1492) is sketched. Excellent charts and maps, a lucid prose style and clear and concise explanations combine to produce an eminently legible and comprehensive text. Chapter 2 ('Foreign Influences', pp. 12-18) specifies the conventional non-Latin lexical influences on Spanish: Celtiberian, Celtic, Basque, Germanic and Arabic. In the realm ofonomastics, toponyms and anthroponyms are discussed and exemplified. A relatively short discussion about the so-called substratum theory ensues. Resnick (henceforth R.) fails, however, to take a firm position on this polemical topic. 1 In the next chapter ('Some Details', pp. 19-29), a brief sketch of Latin phonology and prosody is presented. The notions of learned, semi-learned and popular lexical items are discussed and exemplified. Many of the examples are fresh and therefore interesting. The fourth chapter ('From Latin to Spanish: Phonology', pp. 30-78) is the longest of the entire book. Again, R.'s treatment is thorough and accurate, albeit routine. The illustrative data are refreshing because they are not repetitions of the standard fare found in many other introductory texts. R.'s approach to the Latin-Hispanic phonological changes is in a traditional philological or structuralist format. Much of this chapter consists of a series of item and process statements 2 which lack the rigorous (hence empirical) formalism of generative phonological rules such as those found in Hartman (1974) or Otero (1971, 1976). Furthermore, it is unfortunate that R. has not given any consideration to the computational analyses of Spanish and the Romance languages that are beginning to appear (Burton-Hunter 1976; Eastlack 1977; Hartman 1981, 1982; cf. also Keil 1974). Innovative applications of computer software are taking place that will soon revolutionize the teaching of historical linguistics. Such ancillary programs used in conjunction with this text would enhance its instructional efficiency and effectiveness considerably. Chapter 5 ('Grammatical Changes', pp. 79-108) provides an accurate, succinct and
264
Reviews
established explanation for the transformation of Latin from a synthetic to an analytic syntactic system (loss of postpositional case distinctions conditioned by various phonological modifications and a consequent reliance on prepositions and word order to express grammatical relations). Once more the examples are fresh and original. The following chapter ('History and Dialectology', pp. 109-132) is especially wellconceived. R. (1975) has already established himself as a recognized authority in the field of Latin American dialectology. This chapter demonstrates that expertise convincingly. R. furthermore proves his knowledge of generative grammatical theory in this section in his brief mentions of Harris's (1969) explanation of the sixteenthcentury Spanish sibilant shift and Foley's (1977) hierarchy of phonological strength applied to intervocalic stop consonants. Despite these brief references to current linguistics theory, R. chooses, in general, to employ a more traditional exposition of the facts. Finally, an exceptional presentation of the concept of phonological restructuring appears in this chapter (pp. 118-119). In the area of syntax, R. provides an excellent syntactic example of 'push chains' and 'drag chains' (cf. Martinet 1955; King 1969). The last chapter ('Lexical Expansion', pp. 133-156) treats the impact of native American languages (Arawak, Carib, Nahuatl, Quechua, Aymara, Araucanian and Tupi-Guarani). Other more recent foreign influences (Portuguese, French, Italian, Occitan and English) are discussed in order to exemplify direct borrowings, caiques and semantic shifts. Finally, productive and non-productive word formation patterns are presented. In his prologue (p. xi), R. states that the purpose of this book is ",.. to be a minimum introduction to the internal and external history of the Spanish language. It presents the development of the language in terms of its Latin origins and the foreign influences that have contributed to its formation [translation mine, F.N.]". The extent to which the author has achieved his stated objectives is one way to measure a book's success. R., in fact, manages to attain his goals rather easily. Furthermore, R.'s scholarship is accurate, precise and comprehensible. R. has a true facility for clear , succinct and intelligible explanations of difficult concepts. The author's virtual avoidance of the several transformational generative accounts of historical changes in Spanish in favor of the more conventional philological discussions may be problematic for some linguists. The text fills a recognized gap in the curriculum because it provides a current synthesis of information on Hispanic historical linguistics in a well-written format.
Notes
1 Classical evidence against a substratum influence on Spanish phonology may be found in Elcock (1960: 181) and the references cited in note 2. The fact that such sound changes as f > h may be found throughout Romania and not exclusively in Northeastern Spain is an argument against this hypothesis.
Reviews
265
2 To a certain extent, R.'s approach is similar to Donegan and Stampe's (1979) view of phonology as inventories of processes (cf. Zwicky 1982 : 877).
References
Burton-Hunter, S. K., 1976. Romance etymology: A computerized model. Computers and the Humanities 10, 217-220. Canfield, D. Lincoln, J. Cary Davis, 1975. An introduction to Romance linguistics. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. Press. Donegan, Patricia J., David Stampe, 1979. The study of natural phonology. In: Daniel A. Dinnsen (ed.), Current approaches to phonological theory, 126--173. Bloomington and London: Indiana Univ. Press. Eastlack, C. L., 1977. lberochange: A program to simulate systematic sound change in IberoRomance. Computers and the Humanities 11, 81-88. Entwistle, W.J., 1936. The Spanish language together with Portuguese, Catalan and Basque. London: Faber and Faber. Foley, James W., 1977. Foundations of theoretical phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. Grandgent, Charles H., 1962. An introduction to vulgar Latin. New York: Hafner Publishing Company. Hall, Robert A., Jr., 1974. External history of the Romance languages. New York : American Elsevier Publishing Company. Harris, James W., 1969. Spanish phonology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1974. An outline of Spanish historical phonology, Papers in Linguistics 7, 123-191. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1981. A universal alphabet for experiments in comparative phonology. Computers and the Humanities 15, 75-82. Hartman, Steven Lee, 1982 (MS). A computer model of Spanish historical sound change. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. KeiI, G.C., 1974. Narrow phonetic transcription on the computer: Taking the phone off the hook. Computers and the Humanities 8, 217-229. King, Robert D., 1969. Historical linguistics and generative grammar. Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice-Hall. Lapesa, Rafael, 1980. Historia de la lengua espafiola. Madrid: Gredos. Martinet, Andr6, 1955. I~conomie des changements phon6tiques. Berne: A. Francke. Mateos M., Agustln, 1974. Etimologlas latinas del espahol. 14th ed. M6xico, D.F., M6xico: Editorial Esfinge. Men~ndez Pidal, Ram6n, 1965. Manual de gram~itica hist6rica espafiola. 6th ed. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. Otero, Carlos-Peregrin, 1976. Evoluci6n y revoluci6n en romance. Vol. 2. Barcelona: Seix Barral. Otero, Carlos-Peregrin, 1971. Evoluci6n y revoluci6n en romance. Vol. 2. Barcelona: Seix Barral. Posner, Rebecca, 1966. The Romance languages: A linguistic introduction. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
266
Rev~n~
Resnick, Melvyn C., 1975. Phonological variants and dialect differences in Latin American Spanish. The Hague: Mouton. Spaulding, Robert K., 1943. How Spanish grew. Berkeley, CA : Univ. of California Press. Zwicky, Arnold M., 1982. Review of Daniel A. Dinnsen (ed.), 1979. Current issues in phonological theory. Bloomington and London: Indiana Univ. Press. Language 58, 873-889.
Alexander Issatschenko, Geschichte der russischen Sprache. 1. Band: Von den Anf,ingen bis zum Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts (Slavica). Carl Winter, Heidelberg, 1980. 348 S. DM 132 (brosch.)/150 (geb.). Reviewed by: Herbert Galton, Soviet East-European Studies, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Diese Besprechung wird nicht Issatschenkos (Isa6enko, kurz: I.) Anordnung des Buches folgen, welche chronologisch ist, wie es sich for die Geschichte einer Sprache ziemt. Dies aus dem kurz hier vorwegzunehmenden Grunde, dass mit all seiner historischen Gliederung das Buch in zwei Teile zerfallt, welche untereinander nicht sehr innig zusammenh~ingen, und zwischen denen eine Liicke klafft. Es besteht n~imlich einerseits aus diachronischer Lautlehre und andererseits aus dem, was man gemeiniglich ~iussere Sprachgeschichte zu nennen pflegt - einer IJbersicht der Entwicklung der in der Literatur, aber auch zu allen m6glichen anderen Zwecken schriftlich niedergelegten Formen der Sprache, gegen einen sehr reichlich ausgestatteten Hintergrund der Geschichte Russlands, ja in gewissem Ausmass der politischen und Geistesgeschichte Europas. Bis dereinst marxistische oder andere Historiker einen Zusammenhang zwischen der Entwicklung der Sprachlaute und den Schicksalen eines Volkes auffinden m6gen (von allf~illigen offenkundigen Adstratwirkungen abgesehen), bleiben diese Aspekte voneinander getrennt, und sollen hier auch so behandelt werden. Ihre gemeinsame Bearbeitung in 6inem Buche, noch dazu aus der Feder eines Einzelnen, stellt gewiss ein Novum dar, das geh6rig gew~irdigt werden soil, bei aller Meinungsverschiedenheit im Einzelnen. Dabei liegt I.'s Schwerpunkt auf der erw~ihnten ausseren Sprachgeschichte, wit wollen aber unsere Kritik mit der Lautgeschichte beginnen und uns dann h6heren Sprachebenen zuwenden, mit dem Abschluss in der ~iusseren Geschichte des Russischen. Der erste Hinweis auf das urslavische Lautsystem erfolgt auf S. 14, wo unter anderem das Zeichen ~ eingef'tihrt wird, ohne irgend eine Erkl~irung dessen, was man sich im Ursl. darunter etwa vorzustellen hat, abgesehen davon, dass seine palatalisierende Wirkung auf vorangehende Velare erw~hnt wird. Es kann nicht genug betont werden, dass die Verwendung des Graphems ~ in der slav. Lautgeschichte von zweifelhaftem Wert ist. An und for sich geht es auf die b6hmische Rechtschreibungsreform des Jan Hus (gest. 1415) zuriick, w~ihrend ihm im heutigen (~echischen kein bestimmter