37.1674, Jobs: Phonology: Research Fellow in Computational Phonology, University of Surrey

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1674. Tue May 05 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1674, Jobs: Phonology: Research Fellow in Computational Phonology, University of Surrey

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Date: 04-May-2026
From: Erich Round [e.round at surrey.ac.uk]
Subject: Phonology: Research Fellow in Computational Phonology, University of Surrey


Job Location: Surrey, United Kingdom
Web Address: https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/
Job Title: Research Fellow in Computational Phonology
Job Rank: Post Doc
Salary: £37,694 to £41,064 per annum

Minimum Education: PhD

Specialty Areas: Phonology

Description:
Postdoctoral position in computational phonology on "Rational
Evolutionary Phonology"
Prof Erich Round is seeking qualified applicants for a fully-funded
two-year postdoctoral project on “REVOLUPHON: Rational Evolutionary
Phonology". This postdoctoral project contributes to the core the core
formal-theoretic and cognitive modelling components in the
ERC-selected, UKRI-funded project "Rational Evolutionary Phonology",
2024–2029.
The position is based at the Surrey Morphology Group at the University
of Surrey, and provides the opportunity to work in the vibrant and
highly collegial research environment for which SMG is renowned.
Application deadline: 20 May 2026.
Start date: 1 September 2026, or shortly thereafter.
Background:
REVOLUPHON is an ambitious project in computational cognitive science,
cultural evolution and phonology theory, which seeks deeper
explanations for human phonology. Though phonological theories are
diverse, they contain recurrent axioms and atoms: segments, features,
prosodic units, et cetera. We hypothesise that these units of
representation are explicable in terms of the interaction of phonetics
with resource limitations on human cognition (resource rationality).
Separately, recent decades show that phonologies can be reasonably
well modelled as optimisation problems, with optimisation imputed to
the mind. We hypothesise that apparent optimisation, and its
exceptions, arise because phonologies undergo cultural evolution, an
optimising process. REVOLUPHON tests these hypotheses through
computational modelling of cognition and cultural evolution, to
develop new foundations for phonological theory.
Responsibilities:
The candidate will be a core member of a research team focused on
achieving the REVOLUPHON project aims, and will participate in the
broader activities both of the REVOLUPHON group and of the Surrey
Morphology Group (SMG). The candidate will have opportunities at SMG
to develop their research leadership profile while interacting with
world-class researchers.
Key responsibilities:
- Contribute to the formal operationalisation of project objectives in
the computational modelling of phonological/morphological cognition
and acquisition.
- Design, implement and evaluate deterministic and probabilistic
computational models to meet project objectives and answer research
questions.
- Design and develop linguistically sophisticated natural and
synthetic datasets.
- Analyse and scientifically interpret research results; present
outcomes at scientific conferences; and prepare co-authored research
publications.
- Collaborate with other team members in an ambitious and
multidisciplinary project, and participate in the vibrant, collegial
activities of SMG.
- Your research will be at times independent and in close
collaboration with other project researchers.
Requirements:
Suitable candidates trained in theoretical and computational phonology
are strongly encouraged to apply.
Essential criteria:
- A PhD in linguistics, with a focus on formal computational
phonology.
- Track record of both independent and team-based research.
- Track record of creating scientific software (scripts or packages).
- Track record of innovative research within formal/computational
phonological learning.
- Track record of innovative research which engages with
optimisation/limitations on computational resources, i.e., data
sparsity; algorithmic time and space efficiency; interplay of
computation and data structures/representation.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Up-to-date familiarity with research in subregular phonology, and a
willingness to extend its concepts to new areas.
Desirable criteria:
- Track record of published peer-reviewed research.
- Track record of cross-disciplinary research.
- Familiarity with concepts and methods in computational morphology.
- Familiarity with foundational concepts and methods in Bayesian
statistics.
- Familiarity with concepts and methods in computational cognitive
science.
- Formal training in mathematical and/or computational sciences.
- In-depth familiarity with one or more rich morphological systems
(e.g., via descriptive research; as a speaker).
Apply here: https://jobs.surrey.ac.uk/017926

Application Deadline: 20-May-2026
Mailing Address for Applications:
        United Kingdom
Web Address for Applications: https://jobs.surrey.ac.uk/017926
Contact Information:
        Erich R Round
        Email: e.round at surrey.ac.uk



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