Préface

Résumé

This small book presents an overview of the origins and evolution of a phonological school known as the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) School. It is also often referred to as the Ščerba School. The compilers, editors and other contributors to this volume certainly realize that the subject deserves more than the fragmentary exposition afforded by this book. Yet this book-length essay, supplemented by a reader, may serve as an introductory ‘front-door’: an invitation to learn more about the subject.
The genre of this particular section of the book can be thought of as an extended encyclopaedia article highlighting are the ‘distinctive features’ of this intellectual edifice. The reader of the section is expected to be familiar with basic ideas in the realm of phonology, the author considering his primary goal to be to outline the specific approaches associated with Ščerba. In some instances, the coverage includes exposition of ideas that do not belong to the Ščerba School. This is to show how the School developed against the background formed by its ‘theoretical environment’.