Computational Approaches to Semitic Languages

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Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) Special Interest Group on Computational Approaches to Semitic Languages (the SIG) shall be to promote interest in Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing approaches to Semitic Languages; to provide means of exchanging news of recent research developments, commercial applications and other matters of interest in computational approaches to the study of Semitic Languages; and to supervise the organization of meetings and workshops in Computational Processing of Semitic Languages, guaranteeing at least one biennial meeting. The SIG will represent the diversity of the Semitic language community but will emphasize the common problems that Semitic languages pose and common approaches to solving them. The SIG will operate within the framework of the ACL's general guidelines for SIGs.

Membership

Membership in the SIG will be open to anyone with an interest in computational approaches to Semitic languages. Membership will be terminated upon request, or automatically if no reply is received within two months of posting a membership list update message.

The official language of the SIG will be English.

Elected Officers

The elected officers of the SIG shall consist of a Chair, a Secretary and three Information Officers. The Chair and Secretary shall be members in good standing of the ACL. The Chair and the Secretary will represent two different language communities. The Information Officers will exemplify the diversity of the SIG by representing a variety of language communities.

The duties of the Chair shall be:

1. To have primary executive authority over actions and activities of the SIG.
2. To prepare a written report on the activities of the SIG for the Executive Committee of the ACL, for presentation to the ACL at its Annual Business Meeting.
3. To be a Liaison Representative for the SIG and communicate with the Executive Committee of the ACL.

The duties of the Secretary shall be:

1. To maintain a membership roster of the SIG.
2. To be responsible for any moneys awarded to the SIG by the ACL; to collect and manage any dues that may be required by the organization; and to present an annual report on the SIG finances to the Executive Committee of the ACL.

The duties of the Information Officers shall be:

1. To act as Liaison Representatives, who shall be primarily responsible for communication with members of the SIG, answering inquiries about the SIG.
2. To ensure that up-to-date information of relevance to the SIG members (e.g., information about conferences or language resources) is available from the SIG website.
3. To determine, in conjunction with the other officers, appropriate times and venues for workshops and meetings and other policy issues.

Election of Officers

All officers of the SIG shall be elected by a vote of the Membership. The vote shall take place electronically (either by e-mail or via a dedicated web service) at least two months before the expiration of the terms of the officers to be elected, with at least 4 weeks' notice of nominations to SIG members.

Candidates will present their nomination following a Call issued by the Chair at least two months before the election. They must be members in good standing of the SIG.

The Chair and Secretary will be elected every two years. The candidate with the maximum number of votes will be elected Chair, the next runner-up will be elected Secretary. One year later, elections will be held for the three Information Officer positions. The term of office for each position will be two years.

Votes arriving by the notified closing date will be counted by an Officer appointed by the Chair and agreed to by all candidates. Results of the election shall be notified to the members within four weeks after the close of voting.

Meetings

1. The time and venue of the Meeting will be agreed upon by at least four of the five officers.
2. The Meeting will be held in a country that is accessible to the entire Membership.
3. The Program Committee of the Meeting will we agreed upon by at least four of the five officers. All officers will be members of the Program Committee.

Dues