The Cambridge History of Linguistics (CHL) has been long in the making – indeed, it has a history of its own, with contributions from many (see the Acknowledgments). Some years ago, Kate Brett at Cambridge University Press proposed to me that I edit a volume on linguistics for the Cambridge History Series. She enthusiastically supported my suggestion of the co-editorship of John Joseph, a prolific scholar of (the history of) linguistics. John and I made together the first decisions concerning the scope and organization of the book, the chapters and their topics, and early choices of chapter writers. We wrote responses to external reviews solicited by Kate and polished our part of the final proposal that she successfully presented to the Cambridge Syndics.
As the project was gathering momentum and the workload was becoming heavier than anticipated, we added Monique Monville-Burston to the editorial team. I had worked with Monique successfully on a variety of projects over many years and knew of her deep insight into (the history of) linguistics, her clarity of thinking and writing, and her capacity to work steadily on a complex project. Unfortunately, not long thereafter, John was unable to be involved in the completion of the editorial tasks. I want to acknowledge here his vital role in many aspects of the conceptualization of, and early editorial work on, this volume, as shown by his being listed as co-editor.
Not long after John’s departure, Kate, to whom so much is owed, took on other duties and was replaced by Helen Barton, who has provided expert, patient, and thoughtful guidance (see the Acknowledgments) to Monique and me, while we recruited authors for several chapters, made decisions about additional chapters, and gave comments and suggestions to all of the authors. Monique and I co-edited all of the chapters, co-authored the general Introduction to the CHL with me in the lead and the Introduction to Part III with her in the lead, established the References list, and, eventually, worked together on the Index. In short, Monique has played a pivotal and equal role in the elaboration and publication of this volume, which would not exist in its present state without her.
I am very happy to see this project coming to fruition: it is now (past) time for the CHL to be launched into the world.
