37.3462, Jobs: Classical Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Sino-Tibetan; Catalan, Catalan Sign Language, Medumba, Portuguese, Portuguese Sign Language; Computational Linguistics, Phonetics, Typology: Postdoctoral Researcher in Multimodal Prosody – ERC PROSODY-SENSES, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Thu Oct 22 08:05:02 UTC 2026

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3462. Thu 22 Oct 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3462, Jobs: Classical Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Sino-Tibetan; Catalan, Catalan Sign Language, Medumba, Portuguese, Portuguese Sign Language; Computational Linguistics, Phonetics, Typology: Postdoctoral Researcher in Multimodal Prosody – ERC PROSODY-SENSES, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

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Date: 21-Oct-2026
From: Pilar Prieto [pilar.prieto at upf.edu]
Subject: Classical Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Sino-Tibetan; Catalan, Catalan Sign Language, Medumba, Portuguese, Portuguese Sign Language; Computational Linguistics, Phonetics, Typology: Postdoctoral Researcher in Multimodal Prosody – ERC PROSODY-SENSES, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Job Location: Barcelona, Spain
Web Address: https://www.upf.edu/
Job Title: Postdoctoral Researcher in Multimodal Prosody – ERC
PROSODY-SENSES
Job Rank: Post Doc
Salary: Years 1–4: €42.812,16 (approx €3058 net)

Minimum Education: PhD

Specialty Areas: Computational Linguistics; Phonetics; Typology

Specialty Language(s): Catalan (cat, stan1289)
                       Catalan Sign Language (csc, cata1241)
                       Medumba (byv, medu1238)
                       Portuguese (por, port1283)
                       Portuguese Sign Language (psr, port1277)
                       Classical Indo-European (clas1257)
                       Niger-Congo
                       Sino-Tibetan (sino1245)

Other Specialties: Multimodal Prosody
Description:
The Prosodic and Gestural Studies Research Group (GrEPG) in the
Department of Translation and Language Sciences at Universitat Pompeu
Fabra (UPF) invites applications for a fully funded 4-year
postdoctoral position within the ERC Advanced Grant PROSODY-SENSES:
Prosody across senses: Testing a reconceptualization of prosody as a
modality-neutral component of language governing spoken, visual and
tactile signals, led by Prof. Pilar Prieto.
PD1: SpatioTemporal Coordination across Sensory Modalities in Spoken
Language
The successful candidate will play a leading role in investigating how
prosodic structure is implemented across spoken, sign, and tactile
sign languages. The project aims to determine the extent to which
prominence and phrasing are realized through modality-specific sensory
signals while being governed by shared modality-neutral organizational
principles.
The postdoctoral researcher will lead the comparative analysis of
prosodic structure across spoken, visual, and tactile language
modalities, contributing to the theoretical development of the
Modality-Neutral Prosodic Framework (MNPF). They will work closely
with the PI and the multidisciplinary research team to develop
experimental paradigms and analytical methods that integrate spoken
language, sign language, and tactile sign language data. Particular
emphasis will be placed on understanding how prosodic organization
adapts across sensory channels while preserving common linguistic
functions.
The position offers an outstanding opportunity to contribute to a new
theoretical understanding of prosody as a modality-neutral component
of human language while working in a highly interdisciplinary
environment spanning linguistics, cognitive science, sign language
linguistics, haptics, and multimodal communication.
Main Duties:
 - Develop and lead an independent research programme within the
scientific framework of PROSODY-SENSES, addressing the multimodal
implementation of prosody across spoken, signed, and tactile language
modalities.
 - Design and conduct innovative experimental studies investigating
the spatiotemporal organization of prosodic structure across sensory
modalities, contributing to the theoretical development of the
Modality-Neutral Prosodic Framework.
 - Lead the development of computational and statistical models of the
spatiotemporal coordination of prosody across spoken, visual, and
tactile modalities, integrating speech, bodily movement, and tactile
interaction data.
 - Publish high-quality research in leading international
peer-reviewed journals, present findings at major international
conferences, and actively contribute to the international visibility
of the ERC project.
 - Develop new interdisciplinary collaborations within and beyond the
consortium, contributing to the scientific leadership and long-term
research agenda of PROSODY-SENSES.
 - Co-supervise PhD students, providing scientific and methodological
guidance in experimental design, quantitative analyses, multimodal
data collection, and manuscript preparation.
 - Contribute to the design and implementation of multimodal
production experiments, including the development of experimental
protocols and support for motion-capture and tactile recording
sessions.
 - Develop and optimize analysis workflows for three-dimensional
motion-capture data, synchronized audiovisual recordings, tactile
recordings, and multimodal linguistic annotations.
 - Contribute to the development of annotation protocols,
computational tools, and reproducible analytical pipelines for
multimodal datasets.
 - Support research data management across the ERC project by
contributing to documentation, metadata standards, quality control,
versioning, and FAIR data practices.
 - Contribute to the scientific coordination of PROSODY-SENSES,
including collaborative publications, workshops, training activities,
outreach, and dissemination.

Application Deadline: 18-Dec-2026
Mailing Address for Applications:
        Sardenya 56-62, esc A, 5-1a
        Spain
Email Address for Applications: pilar.prieto at upf.edu
Web Address for Applications: https://apply.interfolio.com/195744
Application Instructions:
Applicants must:
 - Hold a PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Computer Science,
Biomechanical Engineering, Computational Neuroscience, Speech Science,
Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering, or a
related discipline.
 - Demonstrate expertise in three-dimensional motion capture and
quantitative analysis of multimodal behavioural data.
 - Have experience with computational modelling of human movement or
multimodal communication.
 - Demonstrate strong programming skills (Python and/or R; MATLAB or
C++ is an advantage).
Have experience with motion capture systems (e.g., Qualisys, Vicon,
OptiTrack) and/or multimodal recording technologies.
Demonstrate experience with reproducible data analysis pipelines and
research data management.
Have an excellent publication record relative to the career stage.
Demonstrate excellent written and spoken English.
Be able to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and
international research environment.
Desirable Qualifications:
 - xperience with computer vision or machine learning approaches to
motion and tactile signal analysis.
 - Experience with audiovisual annotation tools (ELAN, Praat, Anvil,
etc.).
 - Familiarity with speech analysis and experimental phonetics.
 - Experience supervising students or research assistants.
 - Interest in multimodal communication, prosody, language production,
or embodied cognition.
What We Offer:
 - A fully funded postdoctoral position within an ERC Advanced Grant
PROSODY-SENSES.
 - Employment at Universitat Pompeu Fabra under Spanish labour
regulations.
 - Competitive salary according to UPF/ERC postdoctoral scales.
 - Gross annual salary (2026 scales; subject to annual updates): years
1–4: €42.812,16 (approx €3058 net)
 - Full social security coverage and employment benefits.
 - Access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure, including
optical motion capture, eye-tracking, audiovisual recording, and
advanced computational resources.
 - Funding for conference travel, international collaborations, and
specialized methodological training.
 - An outstanding interdisciplinary research environment within one of
Europe's leading research universities.
Application Instructions:
Applicants should submit the following documents:
 - Cover letter describing research interests and motivation.
 - Curriculum vitae.
 - Copy of PhD diploma (or certificate of expected completion).
 - Up to three representative publications.
 - Contact details of three academic referees.
 - Copy of passport or national identity card.
Selection Criteria:
 - Academic excellence, research track record, and methodological and
technical experience relevant to the position (40%), including
experience in three-dimensional motion capture, quantitative analysis
of multimodal behavioral data, computational modeling, programming,
and the development of reproducible analysis workflows.
 - Quality, relevance, and impact of the doctoral thesis,
publications, and other research outputs, taking into account the
candidate’s career stage (25%).
 - Fit of the candidate’s scientific and methodological profile with
the objectives and research line of the PROSODY-SENSES project (20%),
particularly in relation to multimodal communication, prosody,
language production, motion analysis, and/or embodied cognition.
 - Additional merits and ability to work in an interdisciplinary and
international research environment (15%), including, among others,
experience in computer vision or machine-learning methods, audiovisual
annotation tools, speech analysis and experimental phonetics,
supervision of students or research staff, and interdisciplinary
research collaboration.
Candidates obtaining at least 85/100 on the first three points may be
invited for an interview.
Contact Information:
        Pilar Prieto
        Email: pilar.prieto at upf.edu
        Phone: +34 675574116

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