Post-doctoral position: RCLT, LaTrobe University, Melbourne

[Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald]

La Trobe University
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology

Three-year Research Fellowship

Applications are invited for a three-year Research Fellowship in the 
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology. This is to commence on 1 January 
2004 (or soon thereafter).

Applicants should have a PhD in linguistics or be close to the award of a 
PhD (they will have to have submitted their dissertation before taking up 
this position).  They should have experience of linguistic fieldwork and 
will, ideally, have already completed a grammatical description of some 
previously undescribed language (not their native language) in terms of 
basic linguistic theory.

The successful applicant will work as part of a team with Professor R.M.W. 
Dixon, Professor Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, and other members of the Research 
Centre, on a topic relating to languages preferably from either South 
America or the New Guinea region (primarily relating to Papuan languages). 
They will undertake extensive fieldwork and will either (i) produce a 
comprehensive description of some previously undescribed language; or (ii) 
pursue an in-depth study of a language contact situation. Option (ii) will 
be suitable for someone who already has good knowledge of one or more of 
the languages involved in a suitable contact situation.  The choice of 
project will be made after discussion between the successful applicant and 
Professors Dixon and Aikhenvald.

The Research Centre for Linguistic Typology consists, at any one time, of 
about twenty scholars, working on a variety of languages.  Besides the 
permanent staff we have an array of Research Fellows and PhD students; each 
year a number of senior scholars from across the world spend from three to 
six months with us as Visiting Fellows. Our personnel this year includes 
specialists on spoken languages from the following families or areas: 
Tsimshian, Mayan, Athapaskan, Eskimo-Aleut, Arawak, Arawá, Tacanan, 
Indo-European, Chukchee, Afroasiatic, Niger-Congo, Khoisan, Tai-Kadai, 
Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic, Papuan, Austronesian and Australian, in 
addition to sign languages.

Each year RCLT organises an International Workshop on a topic of critical 
grammatical interest. Papers from the 2000 International Workshop were 
published as Word: a cross-linguistic typology (Cambridge University Press, 
2002) and those from the 2001 Workshop as Studies in Evidentiality (John 
Benjamins, 2003). The volume from the 2002 Workshop, Adjective Classes: a 
cross-linguistic typology, is currently in press with Oxford University 
Press. This year's International Workshop, to be held from 9th to 14th 
June, is on Serial Verb Constructions.

Further information about RCLT will be found at our website: 
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt (see, in particular, our February 2003 
newsletter). Prospective applicants are invited to write to us at 
linguistic.typology at latrobe.edu.au if they have any queries.

RCLT works in close cooperation with the Department of Linguistics in La 
Trobe University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, which has a 
full program of teaching and research.. The university library has an 
excellent collection in linguistics and related fields.

The salary for a successful candidate who has recently completed (or is 
about to complete) their PhD will be at step 6, level A on the academic 
salary scale, AUD $48,400 per annum. (In exceptional circumstances, an 
appointment may be made at level B). An allowance will be made to cover 
travelling expenses to and from Melbourne at the beginning and end of the 
period of employment.  A suitable allowance will be made to cover the 
expenses of linguistic fieldwork, in South America or in the New Guinea (or 
in some other approved) region.

Closing date: 7 July 2003.     Ref: 50004477

Applicants must obtain a Position Description and details of how to apply 
by visiting the Personnel website at 
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/personnel/jobs.html or email 
linguistics.typology at latrobe.edu.au.

Applications, addressing the selection criteria, quoting reference number 
50004477 and including a curriculum vitae, list of publications, and the 
names of three referees (plus addresses, e-mail addresses, phone and fax 
numbers) should be sent to:
         Office of the Director (Human and Financial Resources)
         David Myers Building
         La Trobe University
         Victoria        3086

Applications should be marked Private and Confidential.

A copy of the application should also be sent direct to:
         Ms Siew Peng Condon
         Executive Officer
         Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
         La Trobe University
         Victoria   3086
         Fax: +61 3 9467 3053
Applicants are encouraged to send copies of recent papers and/or chapters 
of their dissertation, directly to Ms Siew Peng Condon, together with the 
copy of their application.

Selection Criteria

1.      Thorough professional training in linguistics, with special 
reference to language description and linguistic typology.

2.      Applicants should either already have a PhD or be in the final 
stages of a Doctoral Program (the dissertation must be submitted before 
taking up the appointment), with their dissertation dealing with a topic in 
descriptive linguistics in terms of basic linguistic theory (not in terms 
of any non-basic formalism).

3.      Ability to work, under direction, as a member of a research team.

4.      Ability to work to a timetable, and produce results on time.

5.      Ideally, to have produced a description of a language, preferably 
(a) a language for which there had previously been no good description; and 
(b) a language other than that of which they are native speaker.

6.      Ideally, some training in anthropology.



Professor Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, FAHA
Associate Director
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
Institute for Advanced Study
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Vic
Australia 3086

e-mail a.aikhenvald at latrobe.edu.au

phone:  61-(0)3-9479-6402 Uni
                 61-(0)3-9455-0020 home

fax             61-(0)3-9467-3053