Paul Newman (ed.) (2017). Syllable weight in African languages. (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 338.) Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Pp. x + 219.

Abstract

This volume is a collection of twelve articles on the topic of syllable weight, drawing on mostly primary data from African languages. African languages have contributed enormously to the development of phonological theory over the decades (see e.g. Odden 1995, Hyman 2003), but this is the first volume dedicated specifically to what they can teach us about syllable weight. As Paul Newman points out in his introduction, African languages are also an appropriate testing ground, given the formative role played especially by Afro-Asiatic languages in the development of the theory of syllable weight. The sample of languages in the current volume is genealogically and geographically diverse. It comprises Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic languages from all across the continent, and the selection is exemplary in demonstrating the many roles that syllable weight can play in morphophonology. The papers range in length from 14 to 20 pages. While all of them address the question of syllable structure, some feel as though they circle around the question of syllable weight, without addressing it directly. That said, every chapter is rich in data, often novel, making the volume an excellent resource for future theoretical work, as well as pedagogical materials. The authors represent a diverse group of voices, including a number of African scholars, and range in rank from graduate students to well-established senior and emeritus scholars. The gender distribution, however, is heavily skewed towards male authors (two-to-one). Syllable weight in African languages will be of interest to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Paul Newman’s introduction and the reprint in Chapter 1 of his seminal 1972 paper ‘Syllable weight as a phonological variable’, together with Matthew Gordon’s overview paper in Chapter 2, provide a solid, accessible introduction to issues surrounding syllable weight and existing literature on the topic (including data from non-African languages). The remaining chapters present new scholarship that advances our understanding of the languageand process-specific nature of syllable weight. The most common topics addressed include tone, stress, minimality and reduplication. The role of syllable weight in contour-tone distribution is discussed for Hausa (Newman; Chapter 1), the Nilo-Saharan Sara-Bagirmi languages (Keegan; Chapter 7), Southern Kenyan Maa (Griscom & Payne; Chapter 9) and Kusaal (Musah; Chapter 11), representing languages from all three major phyla, while other tonal phenomena sensitive to weight are covered for other Chadic languages (Newman; Chapter 1) and theMara