Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics 2nd edn. By Hadumod Bussmann (review)

BOOK NOTICES 239 analysis (CA) was due for 'a period of quiescence' With the arrival of corpus linguistics, the CA of the 1990s looks once again like a promising field of investigation. [Gunilla Anderman, University of Surrey.] Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics. 2nd edn. By Hadumod Bussmann. Translated and edited by Gregory P. Trauth and Kerstin KazZAZi . London & New York: Routledge, 1996. Pp. xxiv, 530. £65.00. This lexicon of linguistics is the English version of Bussmann's Lexikon der Sprachwissenschaft (Stuttgart: Kröner, 1990). The German version was written by numerous well known scholars under B's editorial direction. An English translation is highly welcome because the dictionary is of outstanding quality and has quickly gained an excellent reputation among German-speaking linguists. It gives wide-ranging and detailed information on virtually any topic in linguistics in a single volume. It covers recent research in grammatical theory as well as the traditional branches of philology. Psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, stylistics, rhetoric, philosophy of language, and other fields involving the study of language are also treated. It is not restricted to a specific linguistic school but does right by generative as well as by structural and functionalist approaches to language . Furthermore, it gives brief characterizations of many languages and language families. It contains over 2,000 entries in alphabetical order; access to quick information is easy thanks to numerous crossreferences and bibliographies for further reading. Articles are succinct, clear, and in accessible style throughout. The present version is essentially a translation of the German edition. The original qualities are therefore preserved. The adaptation to the English-speaking linguistic community seems to be well done. This in itself is remarkable since varying terminological usages and research traditions require much more than just translation; and the editors were equally successful in replacing many German references for further study with English ones. But unfortunately the chance to update the dictionary has not been taken advantage of. There are some new articles on recent linguistic concepts such as 'prototype' or 'tree-adjoining grammar'. But otherwise the editors have mainly confined themselves to adding some new references to the articles. Linguistic research of the 1990s is not represented as it should be. For example, the articles on generative grammar give detailed information on government and binding theory and even on the older stages of the framework which are only of historical interest today but make no mention of the minimalist program. Neither could I find references to recent developments in phonology (such as optimality theory) Other contemporary developments , such as areal typology or the renewal of interest in historical linguistics, are not documented the way they would merit. In substance, the lexicon represents the 1990 state of the field. Despite these minor criticisms, the Dictionary of language and linguistics is an excellent work. I am convinced it will be the preferred choice for many scholars who need some basic information on domains and concepts of linguistics they happen not to be familiar with. [Richard Waltereit, University of Tubingen.] ...