37.1114, Support: English; General Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Text/Corpus Linguistics: PhD, KU Leuven

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1114. Wed Mar 18 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1114, Support: English; General Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Text/Corpus Linguistics: PhD, KU Leuven

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Date: 18-Mar-2026
From: Benedikt Szmrecsanyi [benedikt.szmrecsanyi at kuleuven.be]
Subject: English; General Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Text/Corpus Linguistics: PhD, KU Leuven


Institution/Organization: KU Leuven
Web Address:
https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60643123?lang=en

Level: PhD

Duties: Project Work

Specialty Areas: General Linguistics; Phonetics; Phonology;
Sociolinguistics; Text/Corpus Linguistics
Required Language(s): English (eng)

Description:

The research group Quantitative Lexicology and Variational Linguistics
(QLVL) at the Department of Linguistics of the University of Leuven is
looking to hire a salaried predoctoral researcher and PhD candidate to
staff the FWO-funded project "BUG-OR-FEATURE: Variation, optionality,
and dysfluencies" (PIs: Benedikt Szmrecsanyi, Thomas Van Hoey & Matt
Hunt Gardner).
In IT speak, a bug is an unintended (software) error. A feature is an
intended design functionality. The project explores if language
variation and optionality impede (=bug) or facilitate (=feature)
language production. Thus, our theoretical ambition is a fuller
understanding of whether it is the presence or absence of optionality
that is a design feature of language. In this spirit, the project
cross-pollinates variationist linguistics, psycholinguistics, and
theoretical linguistics. Pilot research indicates that grammatical
optionality ('send Tom a letter' / 'send a letter to Tom') does not
trigger dysfluencies. This is surprising, given customary theorizing
that optionality in language is "buggy" and dysfunctional. In this
project, we take this line of research several steps further: so
GRAMMATICAL optionality is not buggy, but is this also true for other
linguistic levels? Against this backdrop, we will investigate LEXICAL
and PHONOLOGICAL optionality in two large speech corpora, the
Switchboard corpus of US American English, and the Bluenose corpus of
Canadian Maritime English. The goal is to determine if lexical
optionality (e.g. ‘baby’ vs. ‘infant’) and phonological optionality
(e.g. ‘good morning’ vs. ‘good mornin’, with g-dropping) trigger
dysfluencies such as UM, UH, and unfilled pauses. Hand-coding of the
data will feed into an analysis that relies on multivariate modeling
including control variables such as e.g. turn duration to find
effects.
During your four-year appointment, you will:
 - Conduct research on the aforementioned topic, with a view to
obtaining a doctoral degree
 - Publish English-language articles in recognized international
scientific journals
 - Actively participate in international conferences and assist with
the organization of local workshops and congresses
 - Provide limited (max. 20% of your time) teaching & administrative
assistance.
Profile:
 - You hold a Master's degree in linguistics, or another relevant
master's degree
 - You have experience with Praat
 - You have a solid background in phonetics and/or sociophonetics
 - You have some statistical literacy, esp. in multivariate modeling
 - You have a background in English linguistics
 - You have near-native competence in English.
Offer:
 - We offer full-time employment (100%) as a PhD fellow for a period
of one year. Upon a positive evaluation, the appointment will be
extended for an additional three years (total of four years).
 - Guidance in your research development within a diverse team of
committed researchers
 - You will have the opportunity to participate in national and
international conferences to present your research.
Start date: October 1st at the latest. Interviews will be conducted in
June 2026.

Application Deadline: 01-Jun-2026

Web Address for Applications:
https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60643123?lang=en

Contact Information:
Benedikt Szmrecsanyi



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