The Editor’s Report

[The following is a slightly modified and updated version of the report made verbally to the LSA membership at the annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 5, 2018, by Editor Andries Coetzee.]

This report period covers my first year as editor of Language. During this period, the journal has continued to do well, with a strong submission record, a reasonable ‘time to decision’, and an expanding reader base. The health of the journal is a reflection of the continued support we receive from the linguistics community. The editorial team is deeply appreciative of this support, and also cognizant of the responsibility that comes with this trust.

Changes in the editorial team

Greg Carlson stepped down as editor of Language at the start of 2017 after an eight-year term. He continued to be involved in an advisory role during the year in order to ensure a smooth transition to the new editorial team. The terms of several other members of the editorial team also ended at the start of 2017, including associate editors for Language Russell Gray, Pieter Muysken, and Natasha Warner; and associate editor for Teaching Linguistics Anne Charity Hudley. In addition to myself, four new members joined the editorial team: as associate editors for Language Roger Levy, Carmel O’Shannessy, and David Willis; and as associate editor for Teaching Linguistics Michal Temkin Martínez. The title of Senior Associate Editor Megan Crowhurst was changed to that of Co-Editor to more accurately reflect the role she plays in the editorial leadership of the journal. Erica Dayton from the University of Rochester stepped down as editorial assistant after serving in this capacity in the important editorial transition year, while Alicia Stevers from the University of Michigan came on board as the new editorial assistant.

A change in the structure of the editorial team was proposed by Editor Andries Coetzee and approved through a vote of the LSA membership. Rather than being led by a single editor elected for a seven-year period, the editorial team will be co-led by an editor and co-editor. An LSA member will be elected to serve as co-editor for three years, followed by a three-year term as editor. A new co-editor will be elected when the current co-editor becomes editor so that every co-editor will serve in that role for three years together with the current editor. This staggered editorial team structure will ensure more continuity in editorial practice. The first election for a co-editor will be held in 2020, and the person elected will serve in that capacity during the last three years of Andries Coetzee’s term as editor.

Changes in journal sections

The Historical Syntax section of Language became an independent non-LSA journal (Journal of Historical Syntax) in 2017. Caitlin Light stepped down as associate editor of the Historical Syntax section of Language, while associate editor George Walkden (also editor of the new journal) agreed to remain with Language to oversee the manuscripts that had been submitted to our Historical Syntax section before the creation of the new Journal of Historical Syntax.

The LSA Executive Committee also approved the creation of a new LSA journal, Phonological Data and Analysis, which will replace the current Phonological Analysis section of Language. Phonological Data and Analysis became operational in early 2018.

Language by the numbers

Volume 93 of Language consisted of four issues comprising 925 pages in the printed section, containing 27 research articles, 1 review article, and 16 book reviews. The online section of the volume had 377 pages, consisting of 7 articles in the Historical Syntax section, 2 in Phonological Analysis, 2 replies to earlier Language articles, 3 textbook reviews for the Teaching Linguistics section, and 10 articles in the Perspectives section (1 target article, 8 responses, and a response to the responses).

Submission statistics for 2017. Between January 1st and November 14th of 2017, we received a total of 151 submissions. The breakdown of submissions by journal section, as well as the status of each submission by November 14, is given in Table 1.