Labov, Sound Change, and Phonological Theory

Labov begins his landmark Principles of Linguistic Change with a volume on internal factors governing sound change (Labov 1994) that focuses on the CONSTRAINTS PROBLEM (Weinreich, Labov, and Herzog 1968): what changes are possible for a language in a given state? On the basis of typological data on sound changes and his research on ongoing change in English, he puts forward a set of principled constraints and generalizations, which the field will be building on for decades to come. Here I take up each of the four major theoretical themes of the book – the regularity hypothesis, mergers and splits, chain shifts, and functionalism – and explore the significance of Labov’s findings for generative phonology, and the ways in which recent developments in phonological theory might help advance Labov’s research program.