The work

The Phonology of Campidanian Sardinian presents a theoretical account of the phonological system of Southern Sardinian. In addition to a description of the rich variety of phonological facts of the language, a unitary framework is developed which is based on three existing theories: the Dependency-based approach to segmental structure, Metrical Prosody and Optimality Theory. Major revisions and extensions of the three theories are proposed which lead to a unitary account of an entire phonological system, from the segmental level to the higher prosodic constituents.
The phonological component of the grammar is argued to be subject to two conflicting and complementary requirements: Faithfulness to the underlying representation of lexical and phrasal inputs, and Wellformedness requirements on the outputs. The former preserves the interpretive task of phonology, while the latter aims at a maximum regularity and predictability of sound patterns. Conflict resolutions between Faithfulness and Wellformedness constraints give rise to a phonological system which allows for both distinctiveness and learnability.
As this book provides a description of an entire phonological system, as well as a theoretical account of the mental organization of sound patterns which underlies the observed phenomena, The Phonology of Campidanian Sardinian is of interest both for descriptive and theoretical phonologists.