John M. Anderson: The Substance of Language
Three-volume pack
John M. Anderson
Reviews and Awards
"The trilogy offers a complete overhaul of linguistic theory from phonology to semantics, syntax and pragmatics via the lexicon and morphology. The books will be of lasting value. Indeed, I believe that they will mark the field and be seen one day as the work of a truly exceptional twentieth and twenty-first century linguist."--Jacques Durand, University of Toulouse
"This is a work of considerable erudition. That erudition takes several forms. Firstly, Anderson exhibits a mastery of a very long Western grammatical tradition, stretching back to the Ancient Greeks, spanning the medieval period and the modern period. Secondly, his acquaintance with a wide range of contemporary work in syntax, morphology, and phonology is deeply impressive. Thirdly, he has an impressive acquaintance with more than just contemporary English: he has an in-depth knowledge of the history of English, particularly Old English, and is familiar with the structure of a wide variety of languages. This aids him greatly in his attempt to construct a specific version of 'general' (as opposed to Chomskian 'universal') grammar. He also exhibits a clear understanding of the conceptual assumptions underlying the frameworks he criticizes, and the details of the specific analyses adopted in those frameworks."--Philip Carr, Paul Valery University