This book has both a descriptive and a theoretical purpose. It is the first full phonological description of Slovak, a language spoken by some four-and-a-half million people in Central and Eastern Europe; and it is a study of the theories of lexical, autosegmental, and prosodic phonology, with a particular emphasis on syllable structure. In a synthesis of these two aims, the author demonstrates how the theories can be integrated in a description of a single language. Particular importance is attached to the problem of phonological representations which, it is shown, must be three-dimensional. Both the independence and the interaction of the melodic, skeletal, and syllabic tiers are investigated in detail. The theoretical linguist will find here a detailed and comprehensive description of the language, deepened by an extensive debate on current phonological theory. For the Slavicist - of whatever theoretical persuasion - the book offers a discussion of the most recent theoretical developments in phonology, couched in the framework of a familiar type of linguistic material.

the first full-scale, generative treatment of the Slovac sound system...Many of Rubach's analyses are ingenious; most are convincing...Rubach's monograph offers the phonologist an insightful view of a challenging body of data. For the Slavist it should provide motivation to take another look at Slovak.
Rubach has made his assumptions crystal clear, presents fully explicit analyses of an enormous body of data and provides his fellow phonologists with exactly the material they need to do whatever they will with it. It is monographs of this sort which prove to have lasting value, and Rubach's book makes a most propitious start to what promises to be a very useful series. * Linguistics Vol 13 *
The book displays considerable scholarship and attention to detail and is written in Rubach's characteristically clear and unfussy style... * Linguistics Vol 13 *