Linguistic structure and linguistic change: Explanation from language processing By Thomas Berg (review)

BOOK NOTICES 207 fragments of Japanese (233-68) and English (269-325). Finally, it should be noted that C does not compare DP with the current dominant theory in generative phonology, optimality theory (OT). In part, this is because OT is a theory ofconstraint combination, not phonological representation, and thus OT can benefit from the theoretical advances made by C. Conversely , much of the early literature demonstrating the superiority of OT to derivational approaches does not reflect on DP, either. The primary difference between theories is the violability of constraints in OT. Since DP is the more restrictive theory, the burden ofproof is on practitioners ofOT, who would greatly benefit from a careful reading ofthis exceptional volume . [Stefan Frisch, University of Michigan.] Linguistic structure and linguistic change: Explanation from language processing. By Thomas Berg. Oxford & New York: Clarendon Press, 1998. Pp. xiii, 336. The objective of this formidable book is to establish a relationship between psycholinguistic processing and linguistic patterns. Berg's approach is to derive predictions from psycholinguistic research and to test them against an impressively wide array oflinguistic patterns and diachronicprocesses as well as those found in poetics. B's case is compelling, though he acknowledges that a successful outcome means that the psycholinguistic approach is merely plausible as it is impossible to eliminate all alternative analyses (65). Although B admits that language is a multifaceted phenomenon that is real at the neurological, physical, sociological, and psychological levels, he adopts a psycholinguistic approach because it bears on all of these levels and because it is a priori feasible given that speaking and hearing are psychological activities so fundamental that productive and perceptual processes are likely to exert influence on the information to be processed, namely, language (54); clearly, B believes that language is not autonomous, contrary to many generativists' views. Further, B cautions against eclecticism, as principles that are adopted from one framework are couched in larger, coherent theories, and their explanatory force is eviscerated when that contextdisappears. B heeds his own advice and seeks to determine how far a single model can take us in explaining language. B's answer is, quite far, although when the relevant disciplines advance enough to be able to assess their contributions, B conjectures that linguistic patterns will undoubtedly be understood as the result of multicausal efforts (279). In Ch. 1, 'On the "art" of explanation' (1-17), B discusses explanation in scientific theory and in linguistics; in Ch. 2, 'Explanation from a macrolinguistic perspective' (18-55), B argues that preferences for certain morphosyntactic processes are favored by language processing considerations. B also evaluates various approaches to linguistic data and theory; Ch. 3, 'Method' (56-67), briefly introduces the interactive-activation model that B adopts, a connectionist approach in which the network serves as both representation and processing system. B states thatthere is no sense in which eitherproduction orperception is primary, as both are essential components of the communication process (63). Further, since the structure ofalanguage is a momentary stage of a continuous historical development, language processing principles must be applicable to both to be of any value. Ch. 4, 'Language structure' (68-164), provides numerous examples oflanguage structure at all levels adjusting itself to the constraints of the processor, including syllable and word structure, assimilation, the varying strength of linguistic constraints, and others. Ch. 5, 'Language change' (165-258), assesses the impact thatprocessing has upon language change and finds a connection between inadvertent errors and diachrony, allowing B to motivate the hypothesis that slight mishaps may act as a starting point for language change; in the remainder of the chapter, B tests this idea against a number of historical changes. B's working assumption is that processing reliability of particular linguistic features has repercussions upon their stability in diachronic evolution. Ch. 6, 'Poetic language' (259-77), is perhaps the most unexpectedly satisfying, as the working assumption that particular processing strategies will favorparticular rhyming patterns appears to be borne out, at least in English and Arabic. Ch. 7, 'Discussion' (278-81), summarizes the findings of the more than 45 major analyses carried out in the book, of which 92% are consistent with the predictions B derives from psycholinguistic theory . B's main conclusion...