1. Name

The Association shall be called “The Linguistics Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” and is hereafter referred to as “The Association”.

2. Address

The Association’s address shall be that of its Honorary Secretary for the time being.

3. Objects

The objects of the Association shall be to promote the study of linguistics; to represent the interests of linguists to government, funding agencies, and universities nationally and internationally; to provide for its members a forum for discussion and facilities for co-operation in the furtherance of their interest in linguistics; to publish or have published the Journal of Linguistics or other periodicals of linguistic interest; to maintain an email list of its members and a website of the Association; to represent the interests of linguistics, and, insofar as the Committee shall deem it practicable and desirable, to act in support of individual linguists.

4. Membership

(a) Any person with an interest in linguistics or related disciplines is eligible for membership. The Membership Secretary is empowered to admit new members to the Association, upon their submission of an application for membership. The Membership Secretary will advise new members of their privileges and obligations, in particular of any arrangement concerning the Journal of Linguistics, of meetings-circulars, and of subscriptions. Membership privileges will only be extended to members in good financial standing with the Association: new members must pay their subscription before receiving the Journal. The Membership Secretary is not empowered to refuse any person membership of the Association, but may recommend to the committee that a particular person be refused membership and the Committee may endorse that decision. Appeals against refusal of membership may be made to the Association, for consideration at the Annual General Meeting. Appeals should be directed to the Honorary Secretary at least two weeks before the meeting.

(b) Memberships are to lapse automatically if a member has not paid the membership fee by 31 December of the year following the year for which the fee is due. Lapsing of membership does not cancel any debt to the Association.

(c) The Association may award free honorary life membership to those of its members who on their retirement are considered to have made a particularly valuable contribution to linguistics in the UK or to the Association. Proposals can be made by any member of the Association and the decision will be taken by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting.

5. Organisation

(a) The Association year shall be from Annual General Meeting to Annual General Meeting.

(b) The governing body of the Association shall be the Annual General Meeting of members.

(c) The Annual General Meeting shall elect sufficient officers to constitute the committee, which shall consist of a President, an Honorary Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, a Treasurer, a Membership Secretary, a Meetings Secretary, and any other officer that the meeting may deem fit. Nominations for Committee positions are to be requested in the first circular before the appropriate meeting, and are to be announced in the second circular for that meeting. Nominations must be submitted to the Assistant Secretary, with the agreement of the nominee. Nominations should be submitted with the same deadline as abstracts for the meeting. In the event that no nominations are received from members by the deadline for nominations, the Committee of the Association is required to submit its own nominations and notify the whole Association of these in the second circular. Votes may be cast either in person at the Annual General Meeting of the Association or by post or email before the meeting. Votes cast in either of these methods will be counted together at the meeting. The Committee shall manage the Association’s affairs and shall have the power to co-opt up to three other members at its discretion, provided that they are nominated for election at the next Annual General Meeting. Officers shall serve for terms of three years and shall generally take up office at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting which elected them. No officer shall serve more than two consecutive whole terms on the Committee.

(d) If any officer shall vacate office between Annual General Meetings, the remaining officers shall have power to appoint another member of the Association to the vacant office for the period until the Annual General Meeting, when an election for the office shall be held.

(e) The quorum at Committee Meetings shall be a number greater than half the number of Committee members.

(f) In the absence of the President from a Committee Meeting the members present shall elect from among themselves an acting President for the occasion.

(g) If at a Committee Meeting there shall be an equality of votes, the President or acting President may exercise a second (casting) vote.

(h) The Committee shall arrange at least one General Meeting of the Association each year.

(i) At Annual General Meetings, twenty-five shall constitute a quorum; if at such a Session a quorum shall not be present, the Session shall be adjourned until the next General Meeting; and at any such adjourned Session the members present shall constitute a quorum.

(j) At Annual General Meetings the President, if present, shall preside; but in the President’s absence a member of the committee shall be elected acting President by the Meeting for the Session.

(k) For all General Meetings the Committee shall arrange a programme in keeping with the Association’s objects.

(l) The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be as follows:

1. The reception of the Committee members’ reports and of the audited accounts for the preceding calendar year which shall be available at the General Meeting.
2. The election of Officers.
3. The arrangements for auditing of accounts for the forthcoming Association year.
4. The discussion of any motion submitted to the Assistant Secretary in writing in advance of the meeting.
5. The transaction of any such other business as the Committee may have arranged, or as the Meeting shall resolve.
6. The determination of the membership fee for the following year.

(m) Voting shall be by show of hands except in the matter of elections to office, where the Committee shall arrange a secret ballot; in the event of an equality of votes the President may exercise a casting vote; the President’s decision on the result of any vote shall be final.

(n) The Committee will elect three members of the Association to act as moderators of the email list. At least two of them will be members of the Committee.

(o) Two people, at least one of whom will be a Committee member, will be responsible for the maintenance of the website.

6. Finance

(a) The financial year shall be the calendar year, i.e. from 1st January to 31st December.

(b) The Association’s funds shall be collected, held and disbursed by the Treasurer, who shall keep accounts to be audited by an auditor appointed for the purpose at the Annual General Meeting.

(c) The Auditor shall conduct an audit at the end of the financial year, and also at such other times as the Committee may request, and may also conduct interim audits at his own discretion.

(d) There will be the following categories of membership fee: for (i) waged and (ii) unwaged/student members, each with or without subscription to the Journal of Linguistics. The membership fees for waged and unwaged members will be determined for each year by the Annual General Meeting of the previous year. The membership fee with subscription will consist of the fees specified in (i) and (ii) above plus the price of the Journal as determined for the members of the Association. Honorary life membership will be free and will include the subscription to the Journal.

7. Termination of Membership

(a) Persons shall cease to be Members if:

i. they shall submit to the Secretary their resignation in writing; or
ii. they owe the Association more than one year’s subscription on 31 December of a given year.

(b) in either case, membership may be resumed at any time provided that the subscription for the calendar year then current and all outstanding debts to the Association be paid.

8. Guests

Guests (non-members of the LAGB) are to be allowed to attend non-business sessions of General Meetings, on payment of any such additional fee as may have been determined.

9. Journal of Linguistics

The Association shall fulfill its obligations to the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press according to the Memorandum of Agreement dated 6th July 1964 or any such subsequent revised agreement.

10. Amendment of rules

These rules may be amended at the General Meeting provided that written notice of the proposal shall have been given in the second circular for the Meeting.

The LAGB is the leading professional association for academic linguists in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and welcomes new members.

These rules approved by the LAGB AGM on 11 September 2008.