31.1048, Support: Indo-European; Comp Ling; Historical Ling; Text/Corpus Ling; Typology; Quantitative Methods: PhD Student, University of Zurich

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-31-1048. Tue Mar 17 2020. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 31.1048, Support: Indo-European; Comp Ling; Historical Ling; Text/Corpus Ling; Typology; Quantitative Methods: PhD Student, University of Zurich

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Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 22:41:57
From: Manuel Widmer [manuel.widmer at uzh.ch]
Subject: Indo-European; Comp Ling; Historical Ling; Text/Corpus Ling; Typology; Quantitative Methods: PhD Student, University of Zurich, Germany

 Institution/Organization: University of Zurich 
Department: Department of Comparative Language Science 
Web Address: https://www.comparativelinguistics.uzh.ch/en.html 

Level: PhD 

Duties: Research
 
Specialty Areas: Computational Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Text/Corpus Linguistics; Typology 
Quantitative Methods 

                      Indo-European 

Description:

With the launch of a new NCCR Evolving Language, which involves nearly 40
different research groups from a large variety of disciplines across
Switzerland, we seek to fill a PhD position (4 years; start date: May 1, 2020,
open until filled).

Our goal is to identify how the use and structure of human language and animal
vocal communication is constrained and shaped by pre-established form-meaning
correspondences, and how novel, arbitrary forms evolve and diversify under
different social and ecological conditions. In this work package we carry out
experimental research with animals such as meerkats and observational research
on human language. Within this PhD project, we will in particular apply a
corpus-based approach using corpora of Indo-European language varieties
(spoken and extinct) in order to explore the extent and the evolutionary
dynamics of form-meaning mappings, focusing on the systematic relationships
between phonological form and grammatical vs. lexical semantic functions.

Your responsibilities:

The successful PhD student in quantitative historical linguistics will become
part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists tackling the topic of language
evolution. Research supervision of this work package will be assumed
collectively by Profs Paul Widmer (Comparative Linguistics), Marta Manser
(Animal Behaviour), Balthasar Bickel (Comparative Linguistics), Robert Weibel
(GI Science), Kentaro Shimizu (Genetics) and possibly others.

The candidate will join the Indo-European Studies Group group at the
Department of Comparative Language Science where he/she will become part of a
team with expertise in qualitative and quantitative historical linguistics,
typology, first language acquisition, and data science. The main task will be
to extract patterns of systematicity in a sample of Indo-European languages,
supported by a team of ML experts, and to explore the evolutionary dynamics
using phylogenetic and phylogeographic methods.

Your profile:

The successful candidate will have an MA in linguistics with a specialization
in historical linguistics/typology/quantitative methods, a strong interest in
corpus linguistics, a solid background in statistics and in at least one
scripting language (e.g. R, Python). We look for evidence of personal
initiative and seek candidates who have excellent teamwork skills and are
interested to go beyond disciplinary boundaries.

What we offer:

We offer varied and interesting work in an inspiring and socially relevant
environment. Diversity and inclusion are important to us.

Place of work:
Zurich

Start of Employment:

Please submit the following documents and information as a single PDF to Paul
Widmer (paul widmer at uzh.ch, whom you may contact for further information) and
Marta Manser (marta.manser at uzh.ch):

- cover letter emphasizing motivation to apply (1 page max.)
- curriculum vitae
- contacts of two referees
- writing sample (e.g. summary of MA thesis; 2 pages max.)

The NCCR places great emphasis on gender balance; we particularly encourage
women to apply.
The position is available until filled. Applications will be evaluated from 3
April 2020.
 

Application Deadline: 17-Aug-2020 

Web Address for Applications: https://jobs.uzh.ch/offene-stellen/phd-position-in-historical-and-quantitative-linguistics/a92a7f2e-c40b-4128-93b3-5eface0d0158 

Contact Information: 
	Prof. Paul Widmer 
	paul.widmer at uzh.ch  


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