Introduction

This chapter establishes the empirical and theoretical goals of the book. It introduces the theoretical backdrop of Anti-contiguity Theory, situating the proposal within a framework inspired by Richards’s (2010, 2016) Contiguity Theory. The chapter previews the book’s main findings and conclusions, while providing details about the book’s chapter-by-chapter organization. It alludes to a number of other issues and questions raised by the proposal and delineates which ones will be dealt with in the book and which will not. The chapter also introduces the book’s running theme—sometimes “syntax” is syntax, and sometimes “syntax” is phonology.