Der Geist, der stets verneint: Roger Lass’s epistemology of linguistic change

ABSTRACT This article offers a critical assessment of the evolution of Roger Lass’s epistemology of linguistic change with particular reference to his two influential monographs on explanation: On Explaining Language Change and Historical Linguistics and Language Change. It analyses the most salient tenets espoused in each work and explains the major influences and the contexts in which they were written, as well as their reception by later language historians. It is thematically organised into the following sections: Introduction. Lass’s 1980 and 1997 monographs on language change Biographical sketch Against naturalness and markedness Against functionalism Against the agency of speakers in language change Against language contact From Popper to Dawkins: from a dualist to a monist stance Conclusions