The biennial Conference on Laboratory Phonology brings together researchers across the many relevant disciplines to present work on the phonological patterns and structures of natural languages. All oral paper sessions are plenary, and are organized to promote discussion across the disciplines. Each session groups together invited and submitted talks on a conference theme and ends with a talk by an invited discussant followed by an open discussion by the entire conference audience. Since the second conference in 1989, there have also been one or more poster sessions, which also are plenary, and there have been satellite events such as parasessions and workshops at some of the conferences as well.

Next Conference: LabPhon20

LabPhon20 (2026), Montréal, Québec, Canada

  • The 20th Conference on Laboratory Phonology will take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada in the (North American) summer of 2026, with the theme “Looking back and looking forward.”
  • LabPhon 20 is jointly organized by members from McGill University, Université du Québec à Montréal, Carleton University, and University of Ottawa. Meghan Clayards, Morgan Sonderegger, Beth MacLeod, and Suzy Ahn are the conference co-chairs.
  • More information about dates, thematic sessions, invited presenters, and other details is forthcoming.

Past Conferences