Revising the CUG Constitution

[kri]

Azul, fans of the Talossan Language!

This post is divided into two, as there is some absurd 10,000 word limit on Witt posts.

When Tomás was here in August, we discussed amending the by-laws of CUG, the Committee for the Use of the Language. Several provisions of them have fallen by the wayside over the years, and we felt it was wise to bring the whole by-laws up to date.

Hopefully, Stolfi and Felici can overcome their Wittlessness and join us here in the discussion. Otherwise it'll be back to e-mail and the telephone.

Below is the whole CUG constitution, current as of today, with some discussion of what Tomás and I were talking about this August. The by-laws are in bold and the commentary is in normal type.

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BASIC CHARTER OF CUG (31 August 1990, updated to 10 January 1997)

Cartâ Fundamáintschál (Basic Charter)

PREAMBLE:

Since 1980 the "sole historic and national language of the entire Talossan people is the Talossan language" (Article 5 of the Constituziun of 1988).

The Committee for the Use of the Language (CUG) was founded by H.M. King Robert I on the 14th of November, 1983, during the Fourth Year of Talossan Independence, in order to encourage "the use, practice, and the creation of a good style" for the Talossan language. The civic responsibility of CUG was heightened by the will of the people in enacting the 1988 Constituziun, which confirmed the custodianship over the language as being in the hands of CUG.

We should update the verbiage to include the 1997 Organic Law, naturally.

Therefore, We, the members of CUG, mindful of our historic responsibility and eager to promote the national language of Talossa, which is in itself an indication of our national authenticity, do hereby approve and enact this Basic Charter for our organization in order to more fully realize the noble goals set forth herein.

DIVISION I: THE Comità: ITS GOALS AND INSITUTIONS

1. The name of this organization is "The Committee for the Use of the Language," or, in Talossan, "La Comità për l'Útzil del Glhetg" (hereafter: "the Comità").

2. The goals of the Comità are:

a) To assemble and to research data on the Talossan language of all historical periods;
b) To direct the developmental course of the Talossan language, by resolving ambiguities in the grammar and thereby increasing the language's expressive and emotive power; and by coining new words to meet the needs of the language, in keeping with the historic aesthetic spirit and "feel" of the Talossan language;
c) To provide Talossan words and translations for English-language institutions in the Kingdom of Talossa,

Note the language carefully.

in order to inculcate a sense of nationhood and separateness from the monolithic English milieu outside the country;
d) To encourage and promote the study of Talossan literature from the past, and also encourage and promote the production of works in Talossan in the present and future;
e) To insure the preservation of a permanent record and database for future researchers should the language ever become extinct;
f) To preserve all historic texts, artifacts, and ancient manuscripts relating to the Talossan language;
g) And to encourage Talossan citizens to learn and use the Talossan language as a vehicle of daily communication, to further the ethnic identity and uniqueness of the Talossan nation.

Can we get any more patriotic than that?

3. The institutions of the Comità are: The Cußéglh (plenum), the Presidency, and the Subcommittees.

DIVISION II: HERALDRY

1. The flag of the Comità is the traditional Ücfahne, the national flag of Talossa charged with the word "üc" in white letters, visible in Schedule 1 at the end of this document.

2. The flag of Talossan-speakers is the Drapéu Grischun, a horizontal tricolour with stripes of White, Grey and Black, in proportion 1:1:2, visible in Schedule 2 at the end of this document.

3. The motto of the Comità is "BE TALOSSAN, SPEAK TALOSSAN."

Which motto, of course, should appear in its Talossan rather than English version. Indeed, Tomás and I discussed having the entire by-laws translated into Talossan, and the Talossan version being made the sole official version. If we're serious about using Talossan, this is an obvious place to begin!

4. The logo or coat of arms of the Comità is the torch of national identity, visible in Schedule 3 at the end of this document.

The National Archives having been restored to Talossan ownership, this logo is again in our possession.

DIVISION III: MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership in the Comità is open to native speakers of Talossan, linguists, enthusiasts, and patriotic citizens infused by a spriit of national peculiarity through national language. To be considered, a person must be proposed as a candidate member by at least one member of the Comità.

Tomás and I both agreed that citizenship in the Kingdom of Talossa is a prerequisite for membership. Whether it ought to be, of course, is another issue.

2. Persons shall be admitted to membership in the Comità by a two-thirds vote of the Cußéglh. They shall become formal members of the Comità upon taking the following oath in the Talossan language:

"Eu, _______ promiséu complätsmînt që véu sietxar àl Comità për l'Útzil del Glhetg com'iens mîmbreu fiéir és actïu; që véu partiçipar în sieu cüsüglhonçâs, dîn 'n spritz del optimizim és del dialôg; és që véu zonarë cadascù pô del aßistançéu poûçivál, à promotar, à protectar, és à zefençar el Glhetg Talossán és l'identità naziunál për qët ça stà, dal apatgéticâ és dal opoçiziun! Acest xhuréu!"

("I, _____, promise completely that I shall serve the Committee for the Use of the Language as a loyal and active member, that I shall take part in its deliberations in a spirit of optimism and dialogue, and that I shall give every bit of assistance that I can, to promote, protect and defend the Talossan language and the national identity for which it stands from apathy and opposition. This I swear!")

Hear, hear!

(continued in next post)

[kri]

(Continued from previous post)

3. Membership shall be for a period of one year, renewable upon payment of yearly dues which are set at $1 (US). Membership in the Comità is considered to have lapsed if a member refuses to pay dues.

Since Tomás and I spend way more than $1 a year on the Talossan language (buying books, photocopying stuff, buying CDs to send to each other, and so on) we think we've more than met our obligations here. However, in terms of formal dues-paying, this clause should probably be scrapped.

4. Members may be expelled from the Comità by a two-thirds vote of the Cußéglh, on the grounds of inactivity or disruption.

As indicated above, we agreed in August that anyone who has left Talossa has also left CUG.

DIVISION IV: THE CUßÉGLH

1. The functions of the Cußéglh are:

a) To approve or reject the budget proposed by the President;
b) To approve or reject applications for membership;
c) To elect the President of the Comità;<br>d) To approve or reject the decisions of Subcommittees;
e) And to resolve disputes between Subcommittees.

2. All members of the Comità are members of the Cußéglh.

3. The Cußéglh shall convene at least once per year, the date of the next session to be determined at the current session.

Running CUG in such a mechanical fashion has been impossible. Meetings are held in impromptu situations, and so clause 3 should be abolished.

4. The Cußéglh shall be convened in an extraordinary session by the President, or by a petition from a majority of its members.

5. All sessions of all Comità organs are open to the public.

6. A majority of members forms a quorum, except if the Cußéglh wishes to expel a member or amend this Basic Charter; in those instances two-thirds of the membership must be present to form a quorum.

7. The Cußéglh may amend the Basic Charter by a two-thirds vote.

DIVISION V: THE PRESIDENCY

1. Once every two years the Cußéglh elects one of its members to be the President of the Comità, and another member to be the Vice-President.

2. The President presides over the Comità, and:

a) Is responsible to the Cußéglh for all activities of the Comità; submits to it an annual report; and represents the Comità abroad;

The tradition of an annual report has fallen by the way-side, but is, perhaps, something worth reviving. Having the report be issued each year on Independence Day would be a good way to remind the President to write it.

b) Calls the Comità into regular and extraordinary sessions, and presides at these sessions;
c) Appoints the members of the Subcommittees, subject to review by the Cußéglh.

3. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President becomes Acting President. In the absence of both, the Cußéglh may elect one of its members to be Acting President.

DIVISION VI: THE SUBCOMMITTEES

1. Subcommittees are selected by the President from among the members of the Comità to govern the projects of the Comità. They are responsible to the President for their implementation.

2. The Cußéglh may, when it seems necessary, establish its own Subcommittees, or change or abolish the Subcommittees established by the President.

3. Each Subcommittee is composed of at least one, and no more than five, members.

4. Each Subcommittee shall convene as often as it sees necessary.

5. There shall be four permanent Subcommittees: Finance (which serves as a Treasurer for the Comità), Grammar, Vocabulary, and Publications.

I can't speak for any of the other Subcommittees, but I've been Chairman of the Subcommittee on Vocabulary for as long as Tomás has been President of CUG. So that's since 1996 or so.

DIVISION VII: PUBLICATIONS

1. The Comità publishes writings in which it prints:

a) Its decisions--Arestadâs--regarding matters of the language (e.g. grammar, spelling, vocabulary) and regarding all other matters in the scope of its activity;
b) Reports about its activity;
c) Research by individuals in the Talossan language and in areas related to it.

2. The official gazette of the Comità shall be "La Revischtâ," which shall be made available to all members to all members without charge (it is paid for by dues). The Comità shall also publish dictionaries, grammars, books and pamphlets about or in the Talossan language.

While CUG has published grammars and dictionaries, these other publications have been lacking. This clause should probably include reference to an official website, which needs to be set up.

3. Nothing shall be printed by the Comità unless the Subcommittee on Publications recommends its printing.

DIVISION VIII: ELECTIONS AND PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES

1. Elections of the President are by open ballot. The current President shall retain his office until a new President can be elected with a majority of the vote.

This loop-hole is how Tomás has maintained his Duvalier-esque grip on power for so many years!

2. All other voting is to be done by voice vote.

3. Meetings of all Comità organs are to be conducted in whatever language is approved by a majority of those present. The use of the Talossan language, especially in stock phrases, is especially encouraged.

4. Normal parliamentary procedure (Robert's Rules) is to prevail in Comità meetings.

DIVISION IX: THE BUDGET

1. The calendar year also serves as the fiscal year of the Comità.<br>
2. The Budget shall be drawn up each fiscal year by the President, with consultation from the Subcommittee on Finance.

This is megabureaucratic. The whole "Division IX" should be scrapped or rewritten.

3. The Budget must be approved by the Cußéglh in order to be enacted. If rejected, new budget proposals must be drafted until one is enacted.

4. The Budget shall be based upon actual Comità revenue through dues, sales and contributions. Deficit spending is not allowed.

5. The preceding four articles can be suspended by majority vote.

Without objection, it is so ordered!

[RATIFIED: 31 August 1990/XI]

Schedule 1: CUG Flag
Schedule 2: Drapéu Grischun
Schedule 3: Logo

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Ben