The Linguistics Association of Great Britain has a rich and evolving history that stretches back to the late 1950s, when it emerged from the Linguistic Circle at Hull University to become the UK’s leading organisation for theoretical linguistics.
The Origins of LAGB
The LAGB has its roots in the Linguistic Circle at Hull University, which was founded and led by the Germanist Jeffrey Ellis in the late 1950s. Over time, the group began attracting linguists from across the UK, not just from Hull.
When it came time to choose a name, “LAGB” won out over the alternative, “British Linguistics Association”, or “BLA” for short.
The first full LAGB meeting took place at SOAS in London, running from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 1959. It was attended by 25 members and guests, a detail confirmed by Fiona Marshall after reviewing the LAGB archives.
The meeting format gradually evolved over the years. Initially, there were two weekend meetings each year, both held during term time. By 1963, the schedule had shifted so that one meeting fell in the Easter break and the other in November. During the 1960s and 1970s, there were a few years, 1971, 1973, and 1974, and possibly also 1964, 1965, and 1976, when only one meeting was held.
At the beginning, all meetings took place in Hull, but from 1962 onwards, one meeting per year was held at a different location. After 1964, it became standard practice to rotate the meetings among different universities.
In 2003, the decision was made to hold just one longer meeting each year, with the aim of boosting attendance.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the conference programmes were relatively modest by today’s standards. Social events, such as an afternoon walk, were often part of the schedule, and it was one of the president’s roles to invite, or gently persuade, members to present papers.
The Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB) holds one main meeting each year, typically across four days in early September. These meetings provide a platform for linguists across all subfields to share research, discuss current theoretical developments, and foster scholarly collaboration.
Each meeting includes a programme of peer-reviewed papers, invited talks, workshops, and special sessions. This longstanding tradition of annual gatherings has been a central feature of the Association since its foundation, evolving in format and location to reflect the changing needs of the linguistics community.
The information about the early years was supplied by Neil Smith.
| Years | Name |
|---|---|
| 1959–62 | Jeffrey Ellis |
| 1962–65 | Neville Collinge |
| 1965–68 | Frank Palmer |
| 1968–71 | John Carnochan |
| 1971–74 | John Lyons |
| 1974–77 | Robert LePage |
| 1977–80 | Eugenie Henderson |
| 1980–86 | Neil Smith |
| 1986–90 | Ruth Kempson |
| 1990–94 | E. Keith Brown |
| 1994–97 | Greville Corbett |
| 1997–2000 | Richard Hudson |
| 2000–01 | Andrew Spencer |
| 2001–04 | April McMahon |
| 2004–11 | Kersti Börjars |
| 2011–15 | Ad Neeleman |
| 2015–20 | David Adger |
| 2020– | Caroline Heycock |
| Role | Names |
|---|---|
| Honorary Secretary | David Adger, Anna Siewierska, Ad Neeleman, David Willis, Sam Hellmuth, Michelle Sheehan, Yuni Kim |
| Membership Secretary | Kersti Börjars, David Willis, Diane Nelson, Andrew Hippisley, Nikolas Gisborne, Heike Pichler, Laura Bailey, Theresa Biberauer, Beth Cole |
| Meetings Secretary | Billy Clark, Marjolein Groefsema, Patrick Honeybone, Oliver Bond, Michelle Sheehan, Robyn Orfitelli, Vahid Parvaresh |
| Treasurer | Paul Rowlett, Wiebke Brockhaus-Grand, Dunstan Brown, Hans van de Koot, Yuni Kim, Chris Cummins, Rob Truswell |
| Assistant Secretary | April McMahon, Gillian Ramchand, Eric Haeberli, Kasia Jaszczolt, Pierre Larrivée, Yuni Kim, Christian Uffmann, Jamie White, Hannah Gibson |
| British Linguistic Newsletter Editor (-1997) | Siew-Yue Killingley |
| Web Admin and External Relations (2013-) | George Walkden, Rebecca Woods, Jonathan Kasstan |