is too recent to
cover the time span which the HSS members try to cover in their
research.
would
perhaps be a broader designation, but not really much better
than
.
My feeling is that the current name is nice enough.
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:02:07 +0100
From:
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Subject: The name of the Henry Sweet Society
To:
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Dear HSS Member
At a committee meeting earlier this year, the question
was raised about the name of the Society, especially in
connection with the need to attract new members. The full
name is The Henry Sweet Society for the History of
Linguistic Ideas, and has been used since the foundation of
the Society in 1984.
The committee would like to gather the views and
suggestions of the membership about whether there is a case
for either choosing a different name, fine-tuning the
present name, or leaving things as they are. The simplest
way is for you to send me an email (
[log in to unmask] ) and I will put your comment(s)
to the committee at its next meeting -- probably in
November.
Here are a few thoughts to start things off:
- Is the current name too long(winded)?
- Could it be giving the impression to 'outsiders' that
the focus is on Sweet to the apparent exclusion of other
equally important linguists?
- Is the expression 'linguistic ideas' an appropriate one
to have in the title?
- Is the mention of Sweet transparent for a younger
generation of linguists?
- Should the world-wide scope of the membership and their
interests be emphasized by choosing a name that reflects
better the interests of the membership? Some people might
say that the word 'British' should appear in the title;
others that there is no need to mention the administrative
base of the Society. A parallel is the re-titling of the
journal in 2009 to simply 'Language & History'.
I look forward to receiving any comments from you.
With best wishes
Mike MacMahon
(President, Henry Sweet Society for the History of
Linguistic Ideas
University of Glasgow
Scotland/UK)
