36.3553, Support: Cognitive Science, Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics, Semantics: PhD Position in Linguitsics, University of Tübingen

Thu Nov 20 16:05:03 UTC 2025

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3553. Thu Nov 20 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3553, Support: Cognitive Science, Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics, Semantics: PhD Position in Linguitsics, University of Tübingen

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Date: 20-Nov-2025
From: Asya Achimova [asya.achimova at uni-tuebingen.de]
Subject: Cognitive Science, Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics, Semantics: PhD Position in Linguitsics, Department of Linguistics, University of Tübingen

Institution/Organization: Department of Linguistics, University of
Tübingen

Level: PhD

Duties: Research

Specialty Areas: Cognitive Science; Pragmatics; Psycholinguistics;
Semantics

Description:

Ph.D. positions in Linguistics
Description:
The DFG-funded Emmy Noether group “Socially relevant pragmatic
inference”, hosted by the University of Tübingen” (PI Dr. Asya
Achimova), is inviting applications for a 3-year PhD position in
Linguistics (65%, TV-L 13 scale, approximately €3.000 per month before
taxes and obligatory insurances). The project combines experimental
and computational approaches to the study of inferences that speakers
and listeners draw in the course of communication. In particular, we
will investigate how pragmatic reasoning interacts with background
beliefs of conversation partners, and how these background beliefs
affect the processes of speech production and interpretation.
Project start: April 1, 2026.
Project end: March 31, 2029.
Project description:
In the course of communication, conversation partners go beyond
combining the meanings of words and morphemes into sentence meanings.
They also disambiguate references, interpret nonliteral language, and
perform a complex range of pragmatic inferences. Presuppositions
belong to a particular class of such inferences. They are frequently
used as a tool for persuasive communication in domains of politics and
advertising. They offer a convenient way of packaging information that
arguably escapes epistemic vigilance barriers and paves an easy way
for information to enter common ground. In philosophy of language,
this property of presuppositions has been attributed to their
backgrounded status:  presuppositions usually encode information that
is taken for granted in a conversation. While presuppositions commonly
encode information that is indeed shared, they can also be used to
communicate new information that can enter common ground via
presupposition accommodation. Presupposition accommodation then opens
a path for manipulative language use when speakers strategically
encode questionable content in the form of a presupposition to bypass
epistemic vigilance and listeners accommodate this information by
drawing an inference. In this project, the doctoral candidate will
investigate how the status of information changes depending on its
source. We ask whether speakers treat information differently when
they derive it on their own by drawing an inference compared to when
they receive this information from another person. This project will
contribute to the understanding of how the inferences we draw depend
on our beliefs and identities. It will rely on weaving together the
understanding of sources of knowledge developed within epistemology,
study of presuppositions and implicatures within formal semantics and
pragmatics, and experimental tools from psychology and cognitive
science.
What we offer:
The Ph.D. candidate will gain experience in:
-       Designing psycholinguistic experiments
-       Computational modeling (RSA framework)
-       Data processing and analysis
-       Presenting the results of their work at national and
international conferences
-       Preparing research manuscripts for publication
Members of the Emmy Noether research group can also take part in
events organized by the Collaborative Research Center “Common Ground”
(SFB 1718) which offers a vibrant linguistic environment, where
doctoral students will benefit from jointly organized colloquia, team
meetings, and informal events.
Requirements:
-       A M.A. or equivalent degree in linguistics, cognitive science,
or related disciplines
-       Solid background in formal linguistics (semantics and
pragmatics)
-       Fluency in English (writing and speaking)
-       Interest in computational modeling of pragmatic reasoning
-       Experience in designing or administering psycholinguistic
experiments
Not necessary but highly welcome
-       Familiarity with experimental design and analysis in R
-       Programming skills (JavaScript, CSS, HTML) or willingness to
acquire them
Application package:
-       A maximally two-page cover letter stating your research
interests and motivation for this specific project.
-       An academic CV containing the email addresses of two referees
-       An academic writing sample in English (e.g. M.A. thesis)
This webpage provides a list of resources that you might find helpful
when preparing your application. While it is primarily targeted
towards North American job market, many of the recommendations apply
to other locations as well:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdW3PlBU3au0VMFAIOY9JBME9g0Cw37f9jfCdfMqdLLsImQtg/viewform
Please send your application as a single file to
Dr. Asya Achimova (asya.achimova at uni-tuebingen.de)
Application deadline: December 20, 2025. Short-listed candidates will
be invited for a Zoom-interview in the third week of January 2026.
The university seeks to raise the number of women in research and
teaching and therefore urges qualified women academics to apply for
these positions. Equally qualified applicants with disabilities will
be given preference.
Contact information:
Dr. Asya Achimova
asya.achimova at uni-tuebingen.de
https://asya-achimova.github.io/

Application Deadline: 20-Dec-2025

Mailing Address for Applications:
        Germany
Email Address for Applications: asya.achimova at uni-tuebingen.de

Contact Information:
Asya Achimova

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