[Lingtyp] Two research positions available - project on linguistic prehistory of South Asia

Tue Jun 27 10:35:32 UTC 2017

The research project "TOWARDS A LINGUISTIC PREHISTORY OF EASTERN-CENTRAL
SOUTH ASIA (AND BEYOND)" at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel
in north Germany, funded by the German Research Council (DFG) (PE
872/5-1), is currently seeking to fill two research positions for a
period of three years (36 months) to begin 1 September, 2017, or as soon
as possible thereafter. 

The primary goal of the project is to determine prehistoric language
contacts and spreads in South Asia, especially in eastern-central South
Asia, by examining distributional patterns and checking these for
potential areal and genealogical trends, constantly viewing this
information against the backdrop of what is known of the history of this
region and South Asia in general and taking the oral traditions and
historicizing myths of the individual ethnicities into consideration,
where possible. To achieve this goal, the project team will compile a
fine-grained morphosyntactic and phonological database on the languages
of sub-Himalayan South Asia, including Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian,
Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages as well as language isolates,
concentrating on eastern-central India, based on data from both
published studies and original field work, thereby providing us with
answers to many questions regarding the linguistic prehistory of this
part of the South Asian subcontinent (and beyond). 

1. Postdoctoral position (E 14 TV-L, 100%) - Duties include the
following: 

 	* the identification of features and constructions to be documented in
the project as well as the development of an appropriate database
format, in close cooperation with the LiMiTS project in Zurich;
 	* data mining, pattern identifying and explaining the identified
patterns;
 	* the coordination of the data collection with other team members and
with external language experts;
 	* data archiving
 	* data collection from published resources on the languages of
sub-Himalayan South Asia (Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian
and language isolates)
 	* surveying typological work on select linguistic topics
 	* the development of questionnaires, as needed, for use in fieldwork
 	* field work in India (ca. three months)
 	* the organization of an international workshop at the
Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel in connection with the project
 	* participation at various international linguistic workshops and
conferences to present the project's results
 	* travel to and collaboration with external experts in Europe
 	* compilation of the final report or application for an extension

In addition to holding a PhD in General Linguistics (or in a closely
related field) with a strong typological emphasis, the successful
candidate will also be experienced in current standard techniques in
compiling and evaluating databases, including statistical methods and
relevant software, such as FileMaker, R, etc. S/he will also be willing
to familiarize him-/herself independently with research methodology and
techniques, as required (e.g. Distributional Typology (Bickel, 2015),
the Family Bias Method (Bickel, 2013), etc.). The ability to work well
in a team is essential. 

Familiarity with a modern South Asian language, preferably Hindi, and
experience in field work are also desirable. If chosen, a candidate who
is not familiar with Hindi will be expected to obtain a basic knowledge
of spoken and written Hindi within the first 12 months of the project. 

The holder of this position will also have the opportunity to do his/her
"Habilitation" (a post-doctoral degree) during this time. 

Kiel University aims at increasing the number of women in research and
academic teaching and strongly encourages applications of accordingly
qualified women. Women will be preferred, provided equal qualifications
and scientific performance. 

The CAU supports the employment of severely disabled persons. Therefore,
severely disabled persons will be preferred, provided equal
qualifications and scientific performance. 

Applications by people with a migration background are particularly
welcomed. 

1 PhD position (E 13 TV-L, 65%) - Duties include the following: 

 	* Data collection from published resources on the languages of
sub-Himalayan South Asia (Austro-Asiatic, Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dravidian
and language isolates)
 	* surveying typological work on select linguistic topics
 	* the development of questionnaires, as needed, for use in fieldwork
 	* extensive field work in India - ca. 11 months within the first two
years of the project
 	* analysis of the raw data from fieldwork
 	* assisting the postdoctoral researcher with data mining and
explaining the patterns identified in the data
 	* assisting the postdoctoral researcher with the organization of an
international workshop at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel
in connection with the project
 	* participation at various international linguistic workshops and
conferences to present the project's results

The successful candidate will hold an MA in General Linguistics (or in a
closely related field) with a background in language typology, language
description and/or language documentation (preferably all three).
Candidates with an MA in South Asian Studies / Indology will also be
considered, provided that they have a similarly strong background in
these areas. The ability to work well in a team is essential, as is the
willingness to familiarize oneself with the basic tenets of statistical
analysis, as required. 

Preference will be given to applicants with field work experience and
who are familiar with at least one modern South Asian language,
preferably Hindi. If chosen, a candidate who is not familiar with Hindi
will be expected to obtain a basic knowledge of spoken and written Hindi
within the first 12 months of the project. 

The holder of this position will also have the opportunity to complete
his/her PhD during this time. 

Kiel University aims at increasing the number of women in research and
academic teaching and strongly encourages applications of accordingly
qualified women. Women will be preferred, provided equal qualifications
and scientific performance. 

The CAU supports the employment of severely disabled persons. Therefore,
severely disabled persons will be preferred, provided equal
qualifications and scientific performance. 

Applications by people with a migration background are particularly
welcomed. 

Please send applications containing a cover letter and a CV by 7 July,
2017, to the following email address: jpeterson at isfas.uni-kiel.de 

-- 
John Peterson
Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ISFAS)
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Olshausenstraße 40
D-24098 Kiel
Germany

Tel.: (+49) (0)431-880 2414
Fax: (+49) (0)431-880 7405

Homepage:
http://www.isfas.uni-kiel.de/de/linguistik/mitarbeitende/prof.-dr.-john-peterson

"Linguistic diversity is something much more unassailable than a 'human
right' - it is a tautology.", John E. Joseph (2004: 192)

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